Wildflower
by Rebellwithoutacause
Summary: Sentiment doesn't really belong in Daryl's emotional vocabulary. There was no place for it as a child, and certainly no room now when the world's ended. So when the camp is invaded by an unusual intruder, it's all business with her as the camp's prisoner. Until she saves their lives and shows him up. Then it's personal. Longer summary inside! Please R&R, now COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

_**Well guys, I'm back! It's been a long time, and yes I know I have other stories in progress...they probably have died, and will not be reanimating any time soon. But who knows, perhaps I will be re-inspired later. Anyway. I have recently become obsessed and in love with The Walking Dead. Unfortunately I haven't been able to see any of the third season but I have a rough idea of what has happened. But, I wanted to say upfront, that this story will be deviating from the events of the canon plot. I won't say what ways obviously, and some aspects of the canon plot and/or characters may intersect in this story, or they may not, I don't know, it just depends. So, with that said, let me give you the full summary since the one that led you here wasn't long enough for my liking.**_

_Sentiment doesn't really belong in Daryl's emotional vocabulary. There was no place for it as a child, and certainly no room now when the world's ended. So when the camp is invaded by an unusual intruder, it's all business with her as the camp's prisoner. Until she saves their lives and shows him up. Then it's personal. Its his personal mission to get even with her, get under her skin and drive her crazy the same way she's been driving him like a damn stick shift. But she has a mission of her own, and he'll never guess, let alone believe, what she's set out to do._

_**So, this being a Walking Dead fanfic, you can be assured of cussing, blood, guts, tension, angst, and all the stuff that makes us love this show. And like I said, my plot differs rather dramatically from the canon plot, so it's anybody's game who lives or who dies. I hope that peaks your interests just a bit, and I hope you'll stick around and leave me a review about what you think. Writing Daryl and many of these other characters is no picnic, so let me know if I'm doing good, if I need to change, and how you like the story. Flames will be thrown to the Walkers. Oh, and as extra incentive for reviews, I will personally reply to each of them as an Author Note before each chapter. With all that said, I think it's time to get this show on the road. Enjoy the ride.**_

_**P.S. One last note. The story starts shortly after Rick and the others return from Atlanta without Merle.**_

_**Oh, and by the way, if anybody from The Walking Dead is reading this...I'm just going to throw this out there now...that is so awesome and I'm sure you get so much adoration and love from your fans that what I say here doesn't really compare, HOWEVER, if you like what you read here and want to tell me about it, find me on Twitter at alotlikefalling. If you're not terrified out of your minds by the obsession of fanfiction, then I humbly ask you to give me a chance. Read the reviews that people have given this story, the stats its gotten, and see if something peaks your interest, and if it does, please, never ever hesitate to tell me. Even if its just to tell me that I'm crazy and overly obsessed. Alright, I'll shut up now and let people read, cause that is what you came here for. Enjoy. **_

It wasn't the first time Daryl had the idea that the world ending hadn't been such a bad thing. He probably wouldn't have chosen it to end by being devoured by slavering living dead freaks but it sure put things in perspective. A razor sharp, diamond clear perspective. He sharpened his knife as the Georgia sun beat down on the back of his neck like an unrelenting son of a bitch- kinda like his brother. He struck the knife across the sharpening stick at the memory, his stomach clenching at the familiar pain. If Merle was alive, if they ever found him, or he ever found them, he was pretty sure he could at the very least expect a solid crack in the jaw from his brother's fist. Maybe a broken glass bottle over the head. Merle was never the subtle type when showing his displeasure.

He tried not to blame the other bastards he was with for what happened to his brother. After a while he'd decided he didn't think T-dog dropped the keys on purpose. He'd taken the time to chain the door shut. And he'd gone back with them to try and find him. It took guts, and a helluva guilty conscious, to face an entire city of those flesh-eating freaks. As far as Rick was concerned…Daryl hadn't decided on him yet. He liked him more than he liked Shane, that was for damn sure, but them two were friends, and that had to be questioned. Daryl was waiting for the shit to hit the fan over the woman. He could practically smell it building. He remembered watching two male dogs fighting over a female in heat once. They'd almost torn each other's heads clean off. He could see something similar happening with Shane and Rick. Cause Rick might be more level headed and diplomatic than Shane, but he still had that light in his eye. That light that a man only gets when he's killed someone for fucking with his shit, and he ain't sorry about it either. Merle had that light. Shane had it. And Daryl knew he had it too.

"Speak of the devil." He said to himself as he saw Rick heading his way. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with the cop, but he had no reason to get up and walk away either. Not yet.

"Daryl." Rick said, acknowledging him. Daryl grunted quietly and lifted his eyes, not saying anything in return.

"You think you could head off and rustle up some food for dinner? We gotta be careful about how much of the canned supplies we go through. Dunno when we might really need them."

It wasn't reluctantly that Daryl stood up from his seat, sheathing his knife on his hip. "Sure. How much of the canned stuff we got left?" He picked up his crossbow from where he'd had it resting at his feet. He never went very far without it now. Sometimes he caught jealous, 'drop dead' looks from Andrea across the camp but he just shot them right back. That blonde bitch was gonna cause problems too, he was pretty sure of it. So far Dale and her sister seemed to be able to rein her in, but just for the sake of his sanity he hoped nothing happened to either of them. He could see her losing her shit and blowing them all to pieces.

"Enough to last for a short while. But we're gonna need more soon enough." Rick answered letting out a tired sigh. Daryl could see the deepening bruises in the hollows under his eyes, the hard set to his jaw. He'd just shown up and been named unofficial leader of this sad ass piece of humanity and already it was taking his toll.

"Always more." Daryl muttered before slinging his crossbow over his shoulder and stalking towards the woods. Rick said nothing as he stalked away. Daryl didn't expect him to. Him and Rick shared that silent understanding. There was nothing warm and fuzzy about the understanding- but it was an understanding nonetheless. Rick gave Daryl space, Daryl contributed to the group. Daryl was content for it to stay that way. He clenched his teeth as he thought of what might have happened had Merle and Rick both made it back to camp. It would come to blows, he was sure, and Daryl was sure he'd fight beside his brother. Merle was a ruthless, unforgiving bastard, but he'd looked after him. As much as someone like his brother could look after a kid.

"Coulda done worse big brother." He said to himself as he picked his way through the edge of the tree line outside of camp, heading deeper into the woods. It was the wrong time of day for deer, and all of the squirrels and rabbits had been scared away from camp. They'd started learning that if they got to close, they never came back. So now he had to go further and further for the same amount of game.

"Least I can fend for myself. Didn't expect to get stuck feedin' them city slickers though." He paused when he heard the snap of a twig. Could be food, could be a Walker, or could be someone from camp following him. If it was the last, he'd make sure they were sorry they intruded on him. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was being crowded, especially when he was hunting.

He gazed into the woods, searching to see if maybe the noise had been food. He settled into his predator mode and calmed what remained of his internal dialogue. Everything was clearer when he was hunting. It was just him and his quarry, and who was stronger, and his odds could be told by the fact he was still standing, even after the world went to shit. He breathed in deep, letting the humid forest air drift down his nose and throat and over his tongue. If the prey was close enough he could smell it sometimes, and if it was a Walker- there was no mistaking that stench. The reek of death was overwhelming and nothing about its flavor was subtle.

At the moment he tasted none of the death-scent that Walkers gave off. Only the moisture of the ever present humidity, decaying vegetation, and the faint hint of humanity from back at camp. He held still again, waiting to see if a critter would present itself as a new home for one of his arrows. When he heard another twig snap, he ducked down and leaned lightly against a tree, loosing his crossbow and holding it at the ready. There wasn't much cover where he stood, but you didn't have to be black ops to bring back dinner. Just smarter than the squirrel you were hunting.

As it would so happen it was a squirrel that emerged from beneath a tangle of weeds about twenty feet deeper into the woods. He lined up his crossbow with the target and let out the air in his lungs before he took the shot. The arrow flew straight and true and impaled that sorry bastard right in the chest. He paused before he went to collect it however. More than once bigger game had been scared out of hiding because he'd made a kill. He waited a long moment before deciding nothing else was out there and collected the squirrel, slitting the throat to allow the blood to drain before stringing it up and re-setting the arrow in his crossbow after cleaning the blood.

"More where that came from critters." He said quietly before heading deeper into the woods. He knew he'd be hunting most of the day in order to bring back enough food for the camp. Now that they'd lost Merle but gained Rick they were down to nineteen members. He had never expected to be in a camp with other survivors at the end of the world. It had always just been him and his brother, and ironically Merle was probably the toughest son of a bitch there was, and he hadn't made it. Almost immediately he could hear Merle's drawl in his head, criticizing him, reminding him the world couldn't kill him off that easy, and he oughta be paying attention to what was going on around him. He took a deep breath in and pushed it away. Merle was alive. Only Merle could kill Merle, he had proof of that.

He made another kill and for a moment the guilt of leaving his brother out there with only one hand and a city full of Walkers died. He drained the second squirrel and kept going, for once enjoying the way the heat gave him something else to think about.

He'd caught eight squirrels by about one or two o clock in the afternoon. He'd keep going until it was dark in order to bring back as much food as possible. It was as he was beginning to track the movements of a rabbit that he noticed something else in the brush. A footprint. A human shoeprint to be exact. It wasn't the first time he'd found one in the woods, most of them belonged to Walkers or other members of the camp. This far away from camp though it was likely a Walker. His heart beat quicker and he leaned against another tree, gazing out into the wilderness. If it was a Walker he'd shoot that son of a bitch and make sure that what was dead stayed dead. He kept a steady gaze, searching for that telling jerky walk or the wheezing breaths that formed the Walker's growls. He scanned for broken underbrush or trampled greens but saw none. Sweat rolled down his face and he quickly wiped it away before it could sting his eyes.

"Where are you?" he asked the empty air quietly. He stared back down at the footprint. It wasn't large but he could tell it was made with a heavy duty boot, similar to what Shane wore. Judging by its size and the way it was placed, whatever had made this was likely female or a teenager boy on the small side. He crouched down and went a little further, inspecting the ground for more prints and saw none, but there was still evidence someone had been here, and recently. The earth was only just now becoming dry and crusted over in the sun. Whoever had made this had probably been here when he was catching his second or third squirrel. So they were probably still around.

He followed a trail of bent vegetation and disturbed earth not finding any whole footprints but there was enough of a trail to keep going. With each yard deeper into the woods, the more his hunter instincts settled over him. Merle had been the one to teach him how to hunt and fend for himself in the wild, but Merle himself had never had the patience for a true hunter. He loved the kill, not the chase. Daryl couldn't say if being out in the baking sun tracking persons unknown was his favorite thing in the world, but it beat listening to the tenors of pain from a struggling group of humanity or draining squirrel blood.

As he was tracking he came across signs of a rabbit as well and allowed it to distract him temporarily. He found a mother and several young feeding on rich green grasses in a small clearing. If he'd had a gun he could have taken them all, but he settled for the biggest of the babies. Life wasn't a Disney movie. If he'd killed the mother, there wouldn't be any more babies. Leaving her alive meant there'd be more rabbits to hunt in the future. The others scattered as their fellow flailed wildly, an arrow in its hip, and Daryl crept forward cautiously to collect his prize. He killed it with a swift cut to the throat and made sure to keep his head up like a nervous deer, just incase something else was drawn by the scent of blood. It was as he was stringing the rabbit up along with the squirrels that he heard a definitive cracking sound just outside the clearing. Immediately he ducked back into the trees and then cautiously peered towards where he heard the sound. A shadow twitched as the breeze began to blow the foliage about and he thought for sure he saw a human form moving deeper into the trees.

He moved at a quick clip pursuing what he knew now was a living person. He'd seen shoulders bend and feet moving too fast to be a Walker. Besides, a Walker would have turned at the smell of blood and the sound of his pursuit, not run in the other direction. He was almost at a flat out run, just barely seeing his quarry about a hundred yards ahead of him. A fleeting glimpse here or there and he quickened his pace even more, running almost flat out, heedless to anything else as his focus narrowed in on the hunt. The sound of crashing brush and snapping sticks reached him but it was second to the flash of pale skin he saw when his quarry dared a look over their shoulder. The pace seemed to double and all of a sudden they vanished.

Daryl kept going knowing the woods enough to know that people don't randomly just disappear. He slowed however and then skidded to a halt entirely when all of a sudden the ground ended in a steep, neck breaking slope. He peered out over the edge of the cliff and saw signs of his quarry, a few skid marks in the grass, a smear of dirt on a rock where they had either kicked off or scraped against it. He stared out further into the woods, searching for movement, but there was nothing. Only the tops of the trees swaying in the moisture soaked breeze. Thunder rumbled overhead and the next wind that came through tasted of rain. Off in the near distance he could see dark grey clouds gathering and heading straight this way.

"Damn it." He growled. He kicked a stone down the hill and watched it tumble and finally land at the base of a tree before he turned back. It was an almost daily occurrence- right at about five o clock in the afternoon it would storm violently for about an hour, just enough to ruin good supplies left out in the open, and then break again. He had about an hour to get back to camp with what food he'd managed to collect. It wasn't quite as much as he hoped for, but tracking the intruder was important too. If there were people, live people, running around these woods near camp, that was something to be aware of.

He high tailed it back to camp just as the sun finally let up and the air dramatically cooled. It was a blessing against his sweat slicked skin and he almost smiled as he cleared the tree line again. Everybody was running around quickly gathering up their valuables and putting them inside or under cover as more thunder snarled overhead. He wasn't greeted by the rest of camp as he hung his catch on a peg underneath the awning of the RV. It didn't bother him, he didn't have much to say to any of them, however he would need to talk to Rick, and undoubtedly Shane, about what he'd seen in the woods.

Sure enough, right at five o clock the heavens unleashed their torrents. Most everybody else scattered, but he took the opportunity for clean water to wash some of the dirt off his skin. He shrugged out of his shirt and filthy jeans behind his tent and enjoyed the way the cold water beat down on sore muscles. He wiped as much of the grime away as he could before ducking into his tent and using his last clean towel to dry off. While the rain beat down above his head he listened to the sound and though he was tempted to sleep, the thought of the person in the woods he'd seen kept him awake. They hadn't seemed hostile, choosing to run instead of turn and face him, but that didn't mean they wouldn't track him back to camp under cover of darkness. But if there was just one of them, and the camp on watch, he didn't figure they could do much damage. The only crux of that was assuming they were alone, and not part of a larger group.

When the rain let up he got dressed and emerged from his tent. The rest of the camp crawled out from their shelters as well and he went to the RV to collect his catch to go ahead and start cleaning them for dinner. Dale emerged from inside the RV and caught Daryl's eye as he lifted the string of small animals off the peg.

"You think the whole camp will be able to have a share of that?" he asked.

"You sayin' I ain't pulling my weight?" Daryl growled coldly as he started stripping skin and fur away from the squirrels.

"No, I'm not saying that at all. It'd just be nice if everybody got a share of the meat that's all. Some of us haven't had any in a while." Dale said, wiping sweat away from his brow from beneath his hat.

Daryl shot him a dirty look. "Stop givin' it away then." He muttered. Dale didn't say anything, but Daryl could feel his eyes on the back of his neck before he retreated back into the RV. Daryl had a certain amount of respect for Dale- he looked after the ones he cared about- but there had to be a point when a man drew a line and took care of himself too. Merle was never so good at that balance. Neither was he really. It didn't matter. If he stayed with the group he had the advantage of being able to sleep in relative safety. If he was on his own, he didn't have to think about anybody but himself. At the moment he saw no particular reason to leave, but it was with a little bit of reluctance he cast his gaze around camp searching for Rick. He found him speaking with Shane around the fire pit and since all of the game was cleaned and ready to be cooked, he brought his catches over, handing them to Carol and Jacqui. The former smiled a little and though the expression didn't reach his face, Daryl had a fleeting sensation of pride. That even though it wasn't much, he'd brought food back for this straggling group of humanity. It was more than his parents had done for him.

"Rick, Shane, I need to talk to you." He said bluntly, getting their attention.

"What's going on?" Rick asked as Shane stood by, the tips of his fingers brushing his holstered gun. Rick was also armed but his hands were loose by his side. Daryl managed to snap his eyes back upward and stare the man in the eye before speaking.

"In the woods I saw human tracks. Thought it was a Walker at first but the tracks didn't look right. I kept going and caught sight of someone in the trees. I chased them to the edge of a cliff and they went down the other side. I heard the thunder and headed back to camp, but there's someone in the woods."

Shane's brow furrowed but Rick's eyes were more open. "You saw them?" he asked, shifting his weight on his feet.

"Yeah I saw 'em. Saw the tracks too. Probably a girl or a teenage boy, wasn't very big." His stomach growled a little at the smell of the cooking meat but he ignored it.

"You sure you weren't seeing things?" Shane asked, his dark eyes getting darker and more scathing by the second.

"You accusing me of somethin'?" Daryl growled, advancing towards the other man. Shane leaned towards him to get into his face, and he would have regretted that decision too, if Rick hadn't stepped in between them. He laid a hand on Shane's chest but let Daryl alone, for which Daryl thought he was smart.

"I know your brother had a drug habit, and I know shit runs in the family, and you don't fall too far from your big brother's tree, so yeah, maybe I'm sayin' something."

"If you think I was ever stupid enough to get into the shit Merle did you got another thing comin'!" Daryl snarled. He tried to lunge for Shane and now Rick did thrust his hand against Daryl's chest, pushing him back firmly. Daryl swung a balled fist towards Shane's head to which the cop just pulled back with a smug, shit eating grin on his face. Daryl hated that look. It was the look of a man who'd successfully gotten a rise out of someone, and polished his halo at the same time. It just made him want to bash his teeth in all the more. Merle would throw that at him sometimes, but it was only to teach him to be stronger, tougher.

"Enough!" Rick barked, stepping firmly between the two men. "We'll put two men on watch tonight and see if the intruder comes into camp. Daryl, you can be one, and whoever had watch originally can accompany you. If someone comes into camp, don't be the one to fire first."

Daryl nodded and shot Shane another eat-shit-and-die look just as Andrea came over. "What was all the shoving about?" she asked, sweeping a tussled piece of blonde hair out of her face. Amy wasn't far behind her, looking a little more concerned than her clearly more annoyed sister.

"This one needs to learn not to shoot his mouth before someone makes it impossible for him to get two words out on account he ain't got no teeth anymore!" Daryl spat. Shane's eyes flamed and satisfaction burned like hot, clean fire in Daryl's chest. He'd gotten under his skin.

"Daryl seems to think he saw someone in the woods today. Not a Walker." Shane said keeping a cool, almost icy tone.

"Someone alive?" Amy asked, and the concern in her voice was clear. "Were they hurt?"

Daryl shook his head. "Ran fast enough to out pace me, so I doubt it. I think they're just scrounging around looking for food. But there's no telling if they're with a bigger group, or if they're hostile, or if they're just passing through."

"But no Walkers right? You didn't see any of them did you?" Carol asked from where she was tending the food. It wasn't lost on Daryl the way she instinctively looked for Sophia who was playing with Carl by the RV under Dale's hawk eye.

Daryl shook his head. "No. No Walkers, no sign of 'em in the trees." Amy breathed a sigh of relief and Andrea squeezed her sister's hand.

"Well we know what we're gonna do. One against nineteen, I think we've got the place covered." Shane said, loosing some of the ice on the edge of his words, but his eyes were still dark and Daryl knew better than to think this was over.

Dinner was a divided affair like it usually was. The Morales family was sitting off together. Amy, Andrea, Jacqui, Glenn, and Dale ate together. Shane, Rick, Lori, and Carl ate together. Near them was Carol and Ed and Sophia and even Daryl could see that Carol was just doing everything in her power to keep her head down and out of reach of Ed's fists. Daryl wasn't a knight in shining armor on a white horse, but even he was hard pressed to stop himself from putting Ed in his place- his ugly face beneath Daryl's boot.

Normally Daryl would have eaten with Merle and although they wouldn't have spoken, it was an affirmation of them against the world. Now he ate alone, despite offers from a few people to join them. He didn't have anything against most of them, he just wasn't like them, and he didn't see the point in getting attached when they were probably going to die. Merle had taught him from a young age, even before the world ended, keep to himself. No one was going to look after him or care about him except his brother, and life had proven that over and over again. And so now he ate alone and didn't complain about it.

When it was time to take watch, he climbed up onto the RV with his crossbow draped across his lap. He was joined by Dale who was usually the first one to take watch during the night.

"This is new." Dale said as he settled into his usual camp chair a few feet away from Daryl.

"After what I saw today in the woods, Rick thinks it's a good idea for two people to be on watch. Just in case whoever is in the woods finds camp."

Dale nodded slowly. "You sure you saw someone?" the old man asked.

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "Jesus Christ, do you people think I'm fucking crazy or something? Yes I saw someone!" he spat, his irritation starting to boil over again.

"Hey, take it easy, I'm just asking because I wasn't there. And we haven't seen anybody alive in these woods for weeks." He sounded apologetic, but Daryl couldn't muster any guilt for snapping at him.

He rolled his shoulders and didn't look the man in the eye. "Probably took that long to get all the way out here by foot." He muttered.

The two men sat in silence and kept their eyes fixed to the tree-line. Even though the need for sleep was crawling up on him he made sure he was focused. Any twitch of the foliage, any creeping shadows. He sank deep into his hunter self again, remembering all the hours he'd spent in deer stands waiting for the right buck to come along. It wasn't often he hunted for sport, but he could never say no to an eight prong or higher. Time seemed to dissipate as the shadows grew deeper and the moon climbed higher into the sky.

"You can take off now if you want." Dale spoke for the first time in hours. Daryl moved for the first time since he'd settled into his chair, tilting his head up at the sky. The moon's position told him it was around midnight, maybe a little later.

"You wanna sleep, go on. I got this. Just send whoever else up for watch." His voice rasped from lack of use. He could go for a cold drink right about now, but he would wait. His skin tingled in the cool air and he could damn near sense his quarry nearby. Bolts of energy shot through his fingers as he flexed them, curling deftly around his crossbow, almost like gripping an ice cube without the chill.

"You've been out all day. Go and get some rest." Dale argued but even as he did so, he yawned deeply and tilted his head back, letting his eyes close briefly.

"I'm fine." Daryl muttered, turning his head back towards the tree line. Dale picked himself up off the chair and rolled his shoulders.

"Very well. I'll send T-dog. It's his turn."

Daryl didn't reply. He just kept his gaze fixated on the tree line. His heart was beating fast as though his prey was right in front of him except he could see nothing. He took a deep breath in and tasted the cool night air but something felt off. His grip tightened on the crossbow and he launched himself to his feet as Dale was in the process of climbing down the RV.

"There!" Daryl barked, indicating with his bow towards the far side of camp, near Ed and Carol's tent. There was a small stump outside that they used as a chair when they weren't inside, and on it was a canteen of water and a plastic Tupperware dish of leftovers someone had forgotten to put inside. A shadow was creeping across the grass, moving like a stalking animal, low to the ground, shadows obscuring its face.

"I don't see anything." Dale said but Daryl was already in motion. He flung himself clean off the RV roof, knees bending to absorb the shock. He staggered a little before raising his crossbow up as he managed to get his feet under him. He ran forward calling out wordlessly at the intruder but the shadow flashed like a startled cat. It lunged and grabbed the canteen and plastic container just as Daryl fired an arrow. There was a yelp and the shadow turned tail and ran, disappearing into the nearby tree line. He looked to see if he'd hit the target, but in the pale silver moonlight his arrow was sticking deftly out of the side of the stump.

Daryl didn't wait, he gave chase, slinging his bow across his body to give his hands freedom. If the enemy got the jump on him, he had his knife in its holster at the ready. His feet crashed through the underbrush making a racket even as Dale's calls began to stir the rest of the camp to life. He kept going, straining to see in the moonlight, heart pounding in his throat as he finally slowed down to see if he could hear anything else. He did hear something- he drew his breath short and fast as he struggled to get his bearings, the instinct to hunt and bring down his target roaring through him like a freight train. He thought he caught a flash of someone running and he made to step forward just as a hand fell upon his shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Wow! Not at all what I was expecting! Thank you so much to all my readers who favorited, followed the story, and followed me as an author! If you're a writer yourself, you know how much that means, and how much those emails can make your day. It really made mine, so thank all of you! And of course, to the wonderful people who reviewed! As promised, I have personally responded to all of your comments, and here they are. The name of the reviewer is in bold, the review itself is in italics, and the reply is in regular type.**_

**Speedfanatic05**- _I've never read a Walking Dead story but this one captured my attention. I look forward to reading more! Great work so far._

I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I'm so glad I could be your first initiating fic. I hope I don't let you down and continue to hold your interest.

**Emberka-2012**- _Lovely start. Daryl was right. In the camp was a guest._

But of course he was right. He usually is. Or he likes to think he is. He's stubborn like that. I hope I continue to please you.

**jalenreedmua**- _LOVE IT! Update soon!_

I love it when people use caps. I hear the emphasis loud and clear, and I'm really glad you love the story. As far as updates are concerned, I think I will be posting chapters weekly or twice weekly, depending on how fast I can write. I am in school, and I'm also planning a trip abroad and while in Europe, I shall be unable to post. So unfortunately at some point soon I'll be leaving you hanging, but I hope you'll stick with me!

**CreepyDaisy**- _I love it that you aren't going to stick with the storyline. Makes it so much more unpredictable and entertaining to read. Please update soon, I want to know whose hand is that!_

I debated for a long time whether to stick with the canon plot and in the end decided to do my own thing, to add greater suspense and tension and to write new endings, or beginnings, for these characters. This is my first time writing suspense/using cliffhangers and I'm glad it seems to be having the desired effect!

**X23 Maximoff**- _Intriguing beginning! I can't wait to see what happens next. Daryl seems tremendously in character, well done! Please update soon. -XM_

Fantastic! I worked really hard to try and get Daryl as close to how he is portrayed in the show, not easy considering he's a lot gruffer and has a very different way of thinking than my own, but I'm glad I'm meeting expectations.

_**And now, on with the show!**_

* * *

A wordless strangle of sounds escaped Daryl as he was forcefully turned around. He shoved whoever had a hold of him, unseeing at first, and raised his bow in defense. When the roar of his pounding heart died in his ears his eyes seemed to focus and he saw Rick's concerned and tense eyes staring straight back at him.

"Daryl, it's me!" Rick said, his voice sharp but not biting. It helped to shake him back to the moment.

"What the hell you got that thing pointed at him for?" Shane snapped as he came running up towards his friend.

Daryl lowered the bow. "Shouldn't sneak up on a man like that." He growled before throwing a vicious look at Shane.

"You can't go tearing off into the woods like that! Especially not at night in the dark with nobody to watch your back!" Rick insisted as they began to walk back towards camp. Daryl narrowed his eyes at him and clenched his bow.

"I don't need no babysitter! You don't need to watch my back!" he spat. He made sure to step several feet away from Rick but Shane cut off his forward progress.

"You go tearing off into the woods like that, what happens if you lead a bunch of Walkers into camp, huh? Ever think about that? For what, what the hell were you chasing?" he demanded.

"Walkers don't come up this far, you know that!" Daryl argued. "And I was chasing the fucking intruder, or did you not get your ass up fast enough to see him getting away?"

"You actually saw someone? The same person from earlier today?" Rick asked.

They had cleared the tree line and by now most of the camp was roused. Dale still had his rifle over his shoulder. T-dog was holding a pistol, as was Andrea. Lori had Carl clutched close. Carol and Ed were standing outside their tent but when they saw Rick, Daryl, and Shane emerge from the trees, Ed stalked forward towards them.

"What the hell was all of that about? Can't anybody get decent sleep around here?" the man drawled.

"Sorry for maybe saving your miserable lives. I won't bother next time." Daryl snarled, spitting at the man's feet.

"What the fuck you mean?" Ed asked, turning from Daryl towards Rick and Shane.

"Yeah, I'd like to know what's going on as well." Andrea demanded. Now they all rounded on Daryl and Dale as well.

"I was just going to get T-dog for watch when Daryl said he saw something. I was climbing down off the RV when he jumped off and started running for the woods. He shot an arrow but it didn't hit anything." Dale looked a little rattled but not angry like most of the group did.

The crowd parted and revealed the stump that the canteen and plastic container had been resting on, and Daryl's arrow imbedded in its side. Daryl stalked forward and ripped the arrow free of the stump but he was pursued by Rick and Shane closely.

"I asked you not to fire unless you were shot at first." Rick said softly, but there was every ounce of authority his old job used to grant him still there.

"Was I supposed to wait for that son of a bitch to do god knows what?" Daryl asked, rounding on the group. He wasn't the least bit pressured by all of the eyes. He could handle a crowd just fine. He hadn't done anything wrong.

"The canteen and the leftover rabbit are gone." T-dog commented.

"You see! That bastard stole it!" Daryl said, vindication rushing through him. "We should mount a search and go after them. Before they come back, maybe with others."

"No." Rick said firmly. "Not in the dark, not with the evidence of it being an actual person being circumstantial. A fox or coyote could have taken those."

"Bullshit!" Daryl cursed. "Animals don't take plastic containers! They'll stay and pry it open, but they won't run off with it, especially a canteen _and _a Tupperware dish."

"He has a point. An animal wouldn't have taken the canteen." Dale piped up. Daryl shot him an appreciative look, until he kept going. "But I agree with Rick. Mounting a search now is dangerous. Daryl chased whoever it was back into the woods, they know we're armed now, I doubt that they'll come back tonight, and if they do, we should be ready here."

"There ain't nothing to search for!" Shane argued. "Tearing off into the woods at any point is risky, let alone at night. I'm sure you were just tired and were starting to see things. It happens to the best of us." Shane reached for Daryl, almost in a friendly way, but Daryl kicked a clump of dirt at him.

"Piss off! I know what I saw in the woods today, and just now. But if you're so sure there ain't shit out there, don't bother taking watch anymore." Daryl stalked away, shooting daggers from his eyes at anybody who dared get in his way.

"He's just testy cause of what happened to Merle." Shane said quietly as he and Rick headed back towards the center of camp while the others fanned back out to their usual sleeping places. T-dog climbed the roof of the RV armed with the rifle to take watch.

"I think he might be right though. There's no reason why there can't be people in the woods. We should be careful." Rick answered.

"Man, we're the last living people for freaking miles. Ain't nobody out there. It's just us against a world full of Walkers. Daryl's just seein' things. The first night in camp he tried spooking us about how he saw a chupacabra once."

Rick's eyebrows cocked a little. "Huh. Well, to be safe, I think we should search the woods tomorrow morning. It can't hurt."

Shane shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever, man."

Daryl slept later than he had originally intended, but heat has a way of keeping a man tied down longer than he plans. When he woke the tent was like a furnace of wet, suffocating heat. He sat up and felt sweat pouring off him and was thankful he had only used the sheets as a pillow. Less laundry for the ladies. He may not eat breakfast with them, but he didn't believe in making people do his dirty work, laundry included.

When he managed to drag his carcass out of the tent he was hoping, and kicking himself, for thinking there might be a cool breeze. None such luck. Only thick, humid, stagnant, insufferably hot Georgia air. The camp was already awake and taking care of the daily chores; people fetching water, cleaning up the remains of breakfast, and hanging up laundry. Carl and Sophia were playing a game of Go Fish under the close supervision of their mothers while they hung clothes to dry. Rick was standing on a rise at the edge of camp, staring back towards Atlanta, the buildings just visible in the hazy wave of heat shimmering in the air.

"You search the woods yet?" Daryl asked, not wasting time with an introduction.

Rick shook his head. "Was waiting on you. I figured you could show me where you first saw the intruder's trail, or maybe pick it up again from camp."

Daryl nodded. "Fair enough. Let me get my bow and I'll be ready."

"Wait, take this." Rick said, offering him one of the fancy protein bars that they'd salvaged a long time ago on the way up to the quarry, picking through abandoned cars for anything they could use.

"Thanks." He took the bar from him and tore the wrapper off, stuffing it in his pocket before tearing off a huge piece of the bar. The sweetness of the honey that held the granola and nuts together racked his tongue more harshly than he would have liked but he wolfed it down in two bites on the way back to his tent to get his bow. While Rick gathered the rest of the people that would be going into the woods, he went and doused his head with the water that remained in his canteen. It was warm but it made him feel at least a little more awake. If there was one thing he really missed from the world before it had gone to shit was coffee. Not that fancy iced mocha Starbucks shit, but good strong coffee, black as black gets. He used to take it from his dad's canister when he was a kid. Merle had given him his first taste when he was about five. He'd spat it out then, and his brother had laughed and called him a pussy and offered to put milk and sugar in it but as he'd gotten older and understood what it meant to be out all night and have shit to do in the morning, he appreciated the bitter tang and sharp kick of caffeine.

He took the last swallow of water from his canteen to help wash out the sweet taste from the protein bar as he shouldered his bow and headed towards where Rick was waiting for him. Also present were Shane, Glenn, and T-dog. All eyes were on him as he stalked over but he didn't say a word. Rick took the lead.

"Alright, here's how this is gonna work. Daryl you take the lead and take us down the trail of the intruder from where he entered last night. We'll fan out and go from there. Anybody see anything don't be shy about saying something. Don't shoot unless you're shot at. We clear?"

There was a small murmur of agreement and Daryl took the lead. He hated the idea of Shane behind him, watching his every move, maybe thinking about ways to make him look a fool again, but he did his best to ignore it. He stalked over to Carol and Ed's tent and inspected the ground where he knew the intruder had to have set foot on. There were faint scuff marks from boots that led towards the trees. He followed them closely and as they entered the woods the world seemed to change. Everything became quiet and for a while he forgot people were behind him and he just focused on the trail in front of him.

Whoever had been running was in an all fire hurry to get the hell away from camp, because they hadn't bothered being careful or discreet. There were ways to move in the woods without leaving an obvious trail, and they hadn't taken the time to do be so careful. The tracks told him whoever they were, they'd been running hard.

"They ran this way." He called, leading them down another embankment. There was a smear of now dried earth on a rock, similar to the one he'd seen in the opposite direction yesterday. Whoever this was, they were used to getting around quickly here.

The trail continued away from the embankment deeper into the woods where they found another creek cutting a narrow swath through the trees and underbrush. The mud was kicked up in one place and there were definitive shoe prints that were now baking in the sun. He called the others over to see.

"Told ya I wasn't seeing things." He growled, eyeing Shane with a look of disgust.

"Still, this could of been a Walker." Shane countered, glancing at Rick for conformation.

"Walkers have never made it this far through the woods." Glenn said quietly. "I've only seen them maybe half a mile outside the city."

"We call them Walkers for a freaking reason, Glenn!" Shane snapped, rounding on the Asian kid. He skittered back a step or two, despite holding onto a shotgun. Daryl rolled his eyes. The kid had balls, but they seemed to only appear when Walkers were between him and a set of wheels out of the city.

"Nah, Daryl's right. There's no kick marks, no scrapes, no blood or flesh. Whoever made this wasn't injured and both their feet worked just fine." Rick said, bending down and lightly touching the softened earth with his fingers. He glanced across the creek up the shallow embankment and into the next set of trees. "It keep going?" he asked, glancing at Daryl.

The hunter followed the one footprint across the bank, scooping up a little of the cold water from the creek and splashing it across his neck as he did so. When he reached the other side he saw nothing. He paced up and down several yards in each direction but saw no indication that whoever had come this way had crossed the creek.

"Nothing?" T-dog asked as Daryl continued to look.

"They must have walked through the creek a ways, maybe trying to throw us off. They had to have come out sometime though. Look for any footprints or disturbances in the creek bed, kicked stones or sticks, anything unusual." Without another word he turned and headed downstream.

"You don't think they would have gone that way do you? Its all rocks, not mud. They could slip and fall and break something with the current pushing their feet, especially in the dark." Glenn said as he and the others started to follow Daryl again.

"That's the point, Chinaman." Daryl drawled, half annoyed that his train of thought was being interrupted. "If someone really wants to throw you off, they'll do whatever they think they have to. Including risk a broken bone or two."

They fell silent again and Daryl sank down into his hunting mode. He was looking for any sign that a human had come this way, and like his quarry, he made sure to move in the water. The best way to find someone was to act like them. He'd found his brother after days of being absent that way many times. His father too. The others behind him kept to dry ground but he couldn't be bothered to care about the trail they were leaving. It could be a deterrent if his quarry saw and realized how many people were out this time.

The creek started to become deeper, hitting him at mid thigh now and the current was getting stronger. He shouldered his bow and kept his hands free. Once he put his foot down and even though he was wearing boots the soles couldn't grip. He slipped and staggered and his hand flailed out, snagging onto a branch that had embedded itself into the creek bed. When he regained his balance he looked up and saw that earth had been scraped away from the side of the embankment and there were thick gouge marks in the dirt. Someone or something had crawled their way up there.

He climbed up out of the creek at the same place and saw at the base of one of the thicker trees that the bark was scraped off. He glanced up into the tree and saw a piece of cloth snagged on one of the midlevel branches. He made sure his bow was secure across his back before hauling himself up into the tree, noticing a few twigs were snapped in places.

"They were up here!" he called down as the rest of the group crowded around the base of the tree. He pulled off the scrap of cloth away from where it was snagged but didn't come down just yet. More bark was scraped along the length of the tree's thicker branch. There was another tree not far away with a branch thick enough to support a human's weight.

"Holy shit." He chuckled lightly. Whoever this was, they were damned determined not to get caught. He climbed down from the tree and hit the ground lightly, holding up a piece of black cloth between his fingers.

"They climbed through the trees to avoid leaving a trail on the ground. But they had to come down sometime. Come on." He pocketed the piece of fabric and led the group through the trees, this time keeping his eyes skyward. When the trees thinned and became further apart, he started looking at the ground. He caught the faintest outline of a footprint in a pile of leaves in between two trees.

"Well? Where to now bloodhound?" Shane drawled as Daryl paused, squatting down to inspect this barest trace of a footprint. A few grey fibers were clinging to a piece of bark, fluttering in the faint breeze that began to blow. He plucked them free and stood up.

"They took their shoes off to make less of an imprint. Either they're desperate or their camp isn't far."

Judging by the sun it was about three in the afternoon and the heat was unrelenting, but even through the trees they could all see the gathering storm clouds in the distance. It wouldn't be long until those clouds reached them. They all looked at Rick, asking him to make a decision whether to stay or to keep going.

"All the tracks point to heading deeper into the woods?" the sheriff asked Daryl.

The tracker nodded. "I could follow it if I really took a mind too but now they're being careful. It'll take longer to get anywhere."

"Come on Rick, we should head back to camp. If someone really is out there, we'll be ready and waiting for them if they come back." He caressed the side of his gun with his thumb and Daryl didn't miss the cold gleam in his eye.

"Do you think you could pick the trail up again in the morning? Early?" Rick asked, turning back to Daryl who forced himself to drop the 'fuck you' look he was stabbing Shane's way.

"As long as the rain doesn't wash it out, should be fine. Or if this washes out, I could try where I saw the tracks yesterday morning. Odds are once they knew I was after them, they ran back to wherever they're holed up."

Rick nodded. "Alright then. You come back in the morning and keep looking. For now we head back to camp. We got work to do."

The trip back was silent and Daryl made sure he walked behind Shane this time. He'd had enough of feeling the man's eyes on the back of his neck. It was worse than a cold steel blade pressed against his skin.

When they got back to camp, most of the women were waiting for them anxiously. Lori jogged up and hugged her husband while Shane looked on, envy burning over every inch of his skin. It was the big dirty secret of the camp that Shane and Lori had been screwing around up until a week ago. Daryl wasn't sure exactly how many of the camp members knew, probably only the ones who worked with Shane closely on a regular basis. Shane was never exactly the subtle type, not for nothing, and it didn't take a genius to see the way Lori looked to him whenever Rick wasn't around.

It was after the evening storm had broken and he was using his little dagger to pick dirt from beneath his nails that he had an idea. If the intruder came back, why not have a little something waiting for them? Something in an opportune place where if they could be lured out into the open and they'd have a better chance of catching them, or at the very least getting a better look so they knew what they were dealing with. He proposed the idea to Rick over dinner.

"It's basically setting bait." He finished.

"What kind of bait did you have in mind? We can't go giving away more food." Andrea commented as she chewed the last piece of squirrel meat from yesterday's kill. He'd have to hunt again tomorrow. Sometimes he wished that he wasn't the only one capable of killing critters effectively but then again, it gave him an excuse to get away from camp for long periods, and that was a good thing no matter how he sliced it.

"Nah, not more food. I was thinking something a little more tempting." He held up the little dagger in his hand. The blade folded over and tucked into its handle like a pocketknife, but it could do more damage than those little weapons. This could kill, if handled properly.

"Oh great, you wanna give them a weapon now?" Amy scoffed. He shot her a look to which Andrea leaned forward over her sister possessively. It was like everyone was scared he'd jump them if they pissed him off. To his credit, he had a little more control than Merle had.

Although maybe not much more.

"It's something they wouldn't want to pass up." He reasoned. "If you were out in the woods alone and there's a possibility of Walkers running around, a knife ain't a bad thing to have. It's not a gun, but it's valuable."

"I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea either." Shane said as he scooped the last of the beans out of his can. "Plus if we just leave it in the open, it's an obvious trap. They won't go for it."

"We could have people waiting in the shadows nearby. If they come, we can snag them. There's almost twenty of us against one of them."

"You hope it's just one of them." Dale said quietly. "Maybe tracking them into the woods today scared them off. If it were me, and I was alone, I wouldn't be coming back here any time soon. Not after almost taking an arrow."

Daryl eased some of the tension in his jaw. Dale had a way of saying what he wanted, getting his point across, and usually he didn't step on too many toes in the process. If anybody could reason a point across gently, it was Dale.

Shane on the other hand could always be counted on to break bones whenever possible. "No. We're not leaving weapons out as bait. If they do have others with them, we can't let them have any edge, not even a little knife. Now I think we all know how easy it is to get killed these days. We need to minimize the chances."

"By doing nothing? That's real productive." Daryl snapped as he used a shard of bone to clean in-between his teeth. He shot a feral look at Shane and was pleased when he saw a thin twitch of fear run through his eyes.

"We'll have more guards on watch, in different parts of camp. If someone comes in, we'll see them." Rick said. There was a clear dismissal in his voice. The matter was over. Daryl just shrugged his shoulders and left the group. He had nothing else to say.

But he had plenty left to do, and he didn't need anyone's permission. Merle hadn't raised a spineless coward to bend to the will of others. He was a Dixon, and heaven help that son of a bitch if they came into camp again.

Although hell might have been the one to cast the bet on. There weren't any pearly gates or golden roads where they were going.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Well my beloved readers, we're back! I hope you find this to your liking, and please, don't be shy. Keep telling me what you think! I love to hear from you!**_

**jalenreedmua**:_ SO EXCITED FOR CHAPTER 3 :)_

Awesome! I was worried at first that the beginning might be slow so I'm relieved to hear you're still interested!

**Emberka-2012**:_ I incredibly like continuation. The characters are solid and alive. I hope they catch the thief. Group can not afford the loss of food and useful accessories._

I'm relieved to hear at least one of my readers say that I'm doing good with the characters. I really want them to be accurate as possible, so I'm trying my best. Glad to know it's paying off. And yes, they really can't afford to lose valuable supplies. Let's see what's to be done about it, shall we? ;)

**speedfanatic05**: _I loved this chapter! I love that we are privy to Daryl's inner thoughts and what he really thinks of those around him. I'm also very intrigued at the mysterious shadow person! As always, Shane's a thorn in the side (but I can easily look over him). All in all, this remains an enjoyable read! __Can't wait for more!_

I recently re-watched most of the first season to get a feel for how Daryl was when we were first introduced to him, and what he might of thought of the others in the group. His mood can change on a dime, so digging deep into what he really thinks was a bit of a challenge, but I like that I can bring it to life for you. Ah, Shane, we shall see where this road takes him, and what consequences it'll have for the rest of the group. Hope to see you continue to write in!

* * *

He hadn't been specifically signed on for watch, but he wasn't going to let that bastard slip through his fingers again. It wasn't that he didn't trust Glenn and Jim. Neither of them had ever done anything directly against him, Glenn in fact had helped save his life in Atlanta. But nobody could hunt like he could, and nobody had the conviction about this business of someone sneaking into camp like he did.

Glenn was on the roof of the RV and Jim was positioned on the other side of camp next to Ed and Carol's tent. Even humans could be creatures of habit, and Daryl had a sneaking suspicion that the intruder might try to enter camp again the same as last night. Ed and Carol's tent was the closest to the tree line and the best place to scavenge for supplies and to make a quick getaway as soon as they were spotted. Daryl was in the center of camp lying on his belly behind some scrub brush that no one had bothered to clear away when they'd first moved in here. It wasn't the best cover, but as long as the intruder came from the north, it wasn't particularly easy to see anyone watching. And he hadn't given a shit what Rick or Shane or even Dale had said. As soon as the coast was clear, Daryl had very casually, but very deliberately, dropped his small knife in the small grassy 'lawn' not quite in the center of camp, actually on the way to his tent which was behind the RV to his left. He'd made sure the blade was open and he knew that if the intruder was looking carefully, they'd see the gleam of the blade in the moonlight.

He knew the intruder wouldn't come in the early hours of the night. If anything he suspected they wouldn't show themselves until well past midnight, hoping everyone was sleeping deeply. Daryl could feel himself nodding off as the minutes ticked on, and he took to biting the inside of his lip to keep himself awake. Every now and then he glanced at Glenn and Jim, checking to see if they were awake. Glenn was prone to fidgeting so it wasn't hard to tell if he was awake. The kid spooked at the slightest twitch of the foliage. Jim on the other hand was very still. Daryl couldn't be positive if he was still awake or not, but he decided to give the man the benefit of the doubt. But to make sure he was ready, he kept his fingers lightly on the crossbow which rested next to him.

Merle had always been fonder of a gun, but Daryl preferred the bow. It was just as lethal, only if he chose it to be. Bullets ripped and shredded flesh, tearing jagged holes and bleeding people out. Arrows, despite their larger size, came through much cleaner, and they didn't fragment like bullets, at least not the fancy metal arrows he now had. He only had six left and he made a mental note to either find more, or make them himself if it was necessary.

It was in the quiet of the night that he was unable to stop himself from thinking about his brother. Guilt wracked his conscious every day. It didn't matter that Merle had been just as bad as his dad as far as taking care of him. It didn't matter Merle had broken his nose, beaten him with a belt, or left him to fend for himself more days than not. He was still his big brother, and he still had done more for him than anybody else. Merle had taught him how to survive, and that had come in handy even before the world ended. The rest of the group didn't know and he wasn't inclined to tell them. His was no sob story. Merle taught him how to deal with pain and muscle it like a man taking down a shot of 80 proof alcohol. It burned but it numbed your insides and after a while you could down shot after shot and eventually drink that other sorry fucker under the table. Last man standing wins. That's how it was, and even more now that's how it would always be. The world ending had been a tragedy for most of humanity, but he couldn't really say he was devastated by the destruction of civilization. There were things about it he missed, hell, there were even people he missed on occasion. But everything paled in comparison to that next breath when it was just him and a pack of Walkers running him down looking to make him an all you can eat buffet. He could survive in this world. He could thrive here. He wasn't so sure he could say the same for some of the others in the camp, but it wasn't his place to play God. As long as they took watch when he slept and at least gave him enough warning to get his pants on before the Walkers busted in his tent, then he'd help them out too. Including by catching whoever had dared to intrude on their camp.

He didn't move from where he lay peeking through the brush, staring out towards the tree line watching for any sign of movement. The inside of his lip was stinging at this point but it didn't matter. A fast glance at the moon told him it was probably two or three in the morning, and he suspected that if the intruder was going to come back tonight, they'd be here very soon. His heart began to beat quicker in his chest and he flicked his tongue against his lips, breathing in deeper to steady himself. It was almost a sixth sense how he could tell if someone was coming up on him. It had saved him and Merle both more than once when they'd been heading for the hills out of reach of the Walkers. And it served him well now.

The shadows began to twitch as a night breeze blew in. He watched the foliage and thick underbrush of the tree line closely, his interest pricked. Something had moved a little too definitively to merely been because of the wind. Everything in him wanted to raise himself into a crouch to get a better look but there wasn't enough cover to do so without giving himself away. He shot a glance at Glenn and Jim. Glenn was awake but he was looking past where he'd seen the shadows move. Jim hadn't moved an inch. He was probably asleep.

"No matter." Daryl rasped to himself. Glenn had a twitchy trigger finger, but Daryl didn't mind that about him, so long as he wasn't in range of the shotgun blast.

Little electric bolts of energy traveled down his wrists and into his fingertips as his heart continued beating faster. His fingers wound around and clenched his bow as he held his breath and dared to use his free hand to gently widen the gap between the leaves of the brush he was peeking through. It was almost like when he was a teenager and had been spying on girls back in his old town when they'd gone skinny dipping in the creek, but with a much more sinister purpose.

A shadow began to slink forward. Dressed in all black and with it's head down it moved on it's belly like a stalking cat towards the center of camp, pausing every so often to see if it had been noticed. Glenn seemed to have noticed the movement, but the grass was still too thick to be certain if what he had seen was an enemy or just a trick of the moonlight. Daryl's heart thudded in his throat and he tried to drown out the roar in his ears with concentration. Just a little further and he'd be able to see if the shadow was in fact the intruder or the long grass twitching in the wind making him see things.

"Come on, come on." He whispered. He inhaled again and almost froze when he did so. He swore he could smell perfume. None of the other women had perfume at camp, and there was nothing in the camp that would give off that smell- the smell of the ocean tempered with a cold sea breeze and just a light tinge of sweetness. He dared to raise his head and pull his bow towards him but as he did so he stiffened when he swore he saw the grass move.

A head peaked out from the grass and though he couldn't make out much detail, he saw pale skin washed with silver by the moonlight, pitch dark hair, and a pair of lamp like eyes watching him. He had that feeling all humans get when they know they're being looked at directly, searching through the windows of the soul as the eyes were known. He knew he was locking eyes with this stranger, and he knew that they knew they had met gazes as well. He didn't hesitate.

He lunged from behind his cover, gathering his legs up underneath him and racing towards the intruder. They threw themselves forward and seized the knife that had been laying in the grass, rolled, and gained their feet just as Glenn was shouting for him to move so he could take a shot. Jim startled as well but had just gotten out of his chair when Daryl launched himself at the invader trying to tackle them to the ground. He grabbed a fistful of shirt but they managed to kick him in the knee and then a fist directly to the top of his wrist forcing him to let go before taking off into the trees.

"Daryl no!" Glenn shouted but the hunter paid him no mind. He raced after his target, only feet in front of him as they pelted through the trees. His legs ate the ground like a voracious Walker's teeth and he stretched his hand out, snagging another fistful of shirt and hair just as they both tumbled over the edge of an embankment. Immediately he let his bow go, not wanting to be impaled by an arrow or damage any of its somewhat delicate parts. He rolled with the intruder, grappling and trying to get a firm hold on them even as they plummeted violently down the hill. They screamed like an enraged tomcat, kicking and scraping nails down the side of his arms even as they finally managed to dislodge him and send him diving in front of them down the rest of the embankment. The world spun fiercely as he continued rolling, beating his shoulder a good one on a rock and snagging his ankle on the stump of a small tree. He finally crashed to the ground inhaling a mouthful of leaf litter and dirt as he did so. He scrambled up to his feet, ignoring the pain in his side from having the wind knocked out of him and managed to grab his assailant by the wrist.

"Gotcha now!" Victory seared through him, right before pain lanced into the side of his skull.

"God damn it!" he cursed as a fist came swinging around and clocking him right in the side of the head. Stars spun around his eyes but the years of taking punches from his brother had schooled him well. He put his fist into the intruder's gut, causing them to double over and cough and he shot his hand into their hair to help push them into submission while he tried to restrain their other hand. He didn't expect for them to buck their head up and catch him in the jaw almost causing him to bite off a piece of his tongue. Pain lanced across his abdomen and then his neck. Then a wrenching sensation in his writs and fingers as they tore free from his grip.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl snarled and tried to chase after the intruder but they were already streaking deep into the woods and the blackness while warm, slick blood was rushing down his skin. Just then voices called up to him from the top of the hill he'd just rolled down.

"Daryl! Daryl, you alright?" Glenn's worried voice echoed through the trees.

"I'm fine! They fucking got away again!" he spat. He took a step forward and pain lanced through his stomach again. He looked down and saw his already dirty over shirt was beginning to stain red with blood. He lightly dabbed at the wound on his neck and felt sticky blood there as well, dripping with warmth down his chest. Clapping a hand to it to help stem the bleeding he made his way up the hill again, using the slender tree stems that were growing out of its side to help him up, grabbing his crossbow along the way where it had skidded and lodged against one of the trees.

"Here, let me help, Jesus Christ, you're bleeding!" Glenn said, offering him his hand as he came up to the edge of the hill. Daryl picked the nearby tree instead and hauled himself up just as Rick, Shane, Jim, Lori, and T-dog came to meet them.

"What the hell happened?" Shane demanded.

"Son of a bitch came into camp again, just like I said they would. I almost had him but the bastard sliced me."

"Let me look at that." Lori said, stepping forward and trying to lift up his shirt to see the wound. He shrugged away from her as they walked deeper into camp to get better lighting, Lori fussing over him until he finally let her see how bad it was with her flashlight. She pulled his shirt up revealing a gash to his flank. Blood had stream down like a thin red waterfall down his skin and in the moonlight it really looked bad, due to the darkness of the blood's color. By now Carl was also awake, anxiously waiting for his parents to return, and upon seeing them come back, Daryl bleeding and in tow, he skittered away from them and towards his father who quickly wrapped his arms around his son for a moment.

"You should clean and dress this to prevent infection." Lori said before disappearing into her and Rick's tent. Her husband now turned to him as he slowly peeled his hand away from the wound in his neck.

"Damn man, he could have killed you if he'd of just been a little deeper." Rick noted. The placement of the wound about an inch and a half above his collarbone, a little too close to his jugular for his liking.

"Yeah, well, they didn't, and that just proves my point! They're dangerous and need to be dealt with." Daryl growled.

"Yeah, and now they're armed, thanks to you!" Shane snapped. "You're gonna get yourself killed just like your freaking brother."

"Don't you say a word about my brother!" Daryl yelled, pushing past Rick and shoving Shane in the chest. Shane knocked his arms out of the way and made to shove back but Daryl was ready for him, ducking down and going to ram his shoulder into Shane's gut before Rick snagged the back of his neck with biting fingers and hauled him away like a disobedient dog. Daryl was surprised at the lean man's strength, and balls, to reach up and grab him like a mongrel pup.

"Enough!" Rick snapped as Daryl turned back around from where Rick had slung him away. "I can't have you two trying to kill each other every time you make eyes. Daryl has a point and Shane does to, so everybody just shut the hell up and calm down!"

"I'm calm, Rick." Shane drawled, but with a menacing look in his eye as he glanced past his friend's shoulder and into Daryl's face. "But this one is bound and determined to either get himself killed or lead every Walker straight to us!"

"Ain't that my business if I go gettin' myself killed? Not like you give a shit, pansy ass city slicker!" Daryl spat. "And there ain't Walkers in these woods, not so close to camp, if there were would we have stayed here?" He flipped Shane off as the silence gave him his answer, right as Lori emerged from her tent.

"Alright enough." Rick reiterated, making sure he stayed between the two men. "Shane, you take watch for the rest of the night, go get Morales to help you. Everybody else get back to bed. Daryl, let Lori clean that cut, just to be safe."

"I don't need anybody's help!" Daryl snapped, halting Lori's advances.

"Come on, be reasonable." Rick insisted lowering his voice as the rest of the group went their separate ways. "Ain't no use in you getting sick and then us having to drag your half-dead carcass around looking for medicine. We need you around here."

Daryl narrowed his eyes and tilted his head at the man. "For what? All I do is cause trouble, ain't that right?" he moved past Rick towards Lori to her credit held her ground even if her throat tightened with nervousness. He tried to soften his tone when he spoke to her. He had no argument with her, just her husband and his friend.

"You got something to take the sting out? Hurts like hell." He said as he glanced at the plastic bag in Lori's hands. He'd seen it before, it was a collection of what first aid and miscellaneous medical supplies they'd managed to salvage on their way up the mountain. Most of it had come from picking through people's cars on the highway that had been trying to flee the city.

"There's some antibacterial cream in those little white tubes. Clean it really well before you use it. The black bottle has hydrogen peroxide, that will help with the cleaning." She said as he took the bag from her.

"I ain't so white trash I can't read." He muttered before stalking away with the bag. He went back to his tent and sat down outside, shrugging off his shirt as he did so. He bent awkwardly as he used some of the peroxide to clean off his fingertips before pouring it onto the cut. It burned something fierce and it actually hissed almost like acid as it penetrated his flesh. He ignored the pain as he used a corner of his sheets to remove all of the dirt and dried blood from his skin. Now without the stain of scarlet on his skin, it was easier to see that the wound was long, almost the length of his hand, but it wasn't deep. It would heal without a scar, unlike many of the other wounds he'd had over the years.

He used some of the cream like Lori had said and then repeated the procedure to the wound on his neck. As he dabbed the cream on he was more acutely aware of how close that blade had come to slitting his throat. Whoever this was, they weren't inexperienced, and they weren't messing around. He hoped the close call tonight had been enough to chase them away but hope had a funny way of screwing with people's heads these days.

As soon as he was finished cleaning the cuts he climbed back into his tent and situated himself as comfortably as possible. He was no stranger to sleeping on the ground, and because of the exhaustion running over him like water spilling down a creek bed, he couldn't even be bothered to move so the roots would stop digging into his side. He closed his eyes and let the blackness take him.

It was almost dawn when he heard the rustling outside. He shot straight up, woken from his thick, body numbing sleep by the creeping feeling in his neck that someone was out there. He crawled to the door of his tent and cautiously peered out. Outside at the tree line, which was only a few feet away, he saw a pair of green eyes and pale skin. His heart leapt up into his throat and he grabbed his knife, unsheathing the blade and holding it firmly in front of him. The figure, almost entirely engulfed in inky darkness, simply stared at him. But something in their eyes called to him, pulling him out into the open air. He approached them, holding out the knife deftly.

"You been creepin' around our camp. I mean to stop you." He warned.

The figure disappeared into the tree line and he gave chase. Cool air rushed down his lungs and the pain from his wounds seemed to fade as he ran through the night, heedless to anything else. He was going to deal with this threat, once and for all. He was sure they were leading him into a trap, someone or something was waiting for him to do him in, but he couldn't help himself. He kept running chasing the figure like his life depended on it. They ran just ahead of him, dark hair swishing against their back, the smell of the ocean tinged now with blood egging him on.

He didn't know how far he ran. It could have been for miles. Eventually the figure turned back to stare at him, but the shadows still obscured most of their face, but he could see those haunting eyes, the ones that had stared out at him earlier in the night. They held each other's gaze like that for what seemed like eternity.

Until it began to move.

Its head melted and twisted into a Walker's diseased, rotting face, but instead of human teeth there were wicked, inch long fangs protruding from black gums and a guttural snarl ripping from his throat. It folded down to four feet and its head and body continued to transform until he was staring back at what had given him nightmares for most of his childhood- the chupacabra. Blood from an old kill gushed from inside its mouth, pooling around the edges of its black lips, congealed and sickening. Chunks of flesh and strips of rotting meat hung from its jaws as it snapped its wicked teeth at him.

He ran for his life at the sound of the animal's snarl, but it wasn't enough. No matter how far or how fast he ran, the creature was just a step behind him. His feet sprinted over the forest floor but he could still hear the thunder of the monster's pursuit. He gasped with pain and unabated terror as he struggled to lengthen his stride but had nothing else to give. His lungs burned for want of oxygen even as the muscles in his legs seized and knotted up, trying to slow him down. He kept running, damned if he would die without trying to save himself to the bitter end.

When it finally leapt and sank its teeth deep into his neck and tasted his blood, he yowled with pain, the high tenors of a whine curling through his voice as excruciating heat and the feeling of serrated knives stabbing into his flesh wracked him. The animal pulled him down to the forest floor where it continued to bite so deep it crushed his collarbone between its jaws. Another cry of pure and unrestricted agony tore itself from his throat, but even over his screams, he heard the ghost of his brother's cold laughter drifting on the lonely night breeze.


	4. Chapter 4

**_And we're back again! I'm trying to give you guys fast updates because I'm going to be leaving in two weeks for Europe, and during that time, I doubt I'll be able to post at all. I'm 90% sure the story won't be finished by the time I leave, so I unfortunately will leave you hanging, but hopefully everyone will stick around. All my reviewers have been wonderful and keep encouraging me and fueling my desire to write and write well._**

**jalenreedmua**: _Ahh I wanna meet this stranger soon :)_

I know, and I feel a bit cruel for making you wait so long, but I hope you'll stick with me and keep along for the ride. There's some good action in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it =)

**Emberka-2012**:_ Now I even more want to see the next chapter_

Excellent, my writing is having the desired effect!

**X23 Maximoff**: _OH MY GOODNESS PLEASE SAY IT WAS A DREAM_

_Wonderful addition! Please update soon!_

_-XM_

Glad you enjoyed it, and now you shall find out if it really was a dream ;)

**NightCoringMadness**: _OMFG_

Is that a good all caps or bad all caps? Clue me in a little, but I'm glad you read my fic regardless. Or at least reviewed, which probably means you read it.

* * *

A strangled yell tore itself from his throat as Daryl thrashed awake. He gasped for air and despite the intense temperature in the tent, cold sweat slicked his entire body. When his eyes finally opened all the way and he saw the grey ceiling of the tent above him, he collapsed back down, his arm slipping and giving out. He leaned back down and just laid there, trying to get his breath back.

He hadn't had a dream like that in a while. The chupacabra had haunted his dreams as a child, even up into his adulthood if he'd been drinking and went to bed without sobering up first. It was one of the reasons he made a point to at least be half way legal to drive before passing out. He didn't care what Merle, Shane, or any of those other bastards said. He knew what he saw in the woods that day. It had been broad daylight and he'd seen that mutated dog creature with snapping teeth and blood dripping from its fangs. It had chased him all the way back to his house where he'd managed to throw himself inside and slam the door shut, bolting the lock and leaning against it while it howled and thrashed, throwing itself against the door trying to get in. Merle had eventually found him huddled there hours later, tears streaming down his face. The memory was a messy blur, both from how long ago it had happened and the salty water in his eyes that had obscured his vision. Merle had slapped him across the face for running like a pussy but Daryl had known better. That fucker would have eaten him alive and no amount of insults from his brother, or the stinging handprint against his cheek was going to change that.

He picked up his knife from where it was resting beside him and turned it over in his hand. He had grabbed it in his dream and taken it with him, but it seemed to have vanished into smoke as soon as he'd seen the chupacabra. It had felt so real, the weight, the coolness in the handle, the gleam of the moonlight off the blade as he had approached the shadowy intruder. He shoved the thought that maybe he was losing his mind away and got up. He had work to do.

As soon as he was in the main body of the camp Rick called him over. He could sense that there was going to be some throwing down and Daryl stiffened his spine even as pain ran up his flank. The wound would be tender for a while, but he was no stranger to pain. He'd muscled through a helluva lot worse than that. He approached where Rick was standing, along with Glenn, Shane, T-dog, and Dale.

"Alright, after what happened last night, I say we leave this intruder alone. If they come into camp and mess with us, that's on them. You have full discretion to shoot first at this point. They've proven they'll use lethal force if necessary. We have to defend what's ours. I don't know why they keep coming back or what they're after, and I don't care. We'll deal with this, but only if they come on our turf."

"Bout fucking time." Daryl drawled with a pointed look at all of them. "Do I gotta die before shit gets done around here?"

"Hey, now, enough. Nobody made you chase after them in the dark." Rick warned, the barest trace of a threat in his voice. Daryl decided not to press it. Rick had given them the go ahead to shoot first and ask questions from now on, and that was enough of a compromise for him for the moment.

"Ok, back to business." The sheriff continued. "Daryl, we need more meat so you go hunt, Shane, Glenn, and I will head into the woods back to where the trail thinned yesterday and see what we can find. I'm hoping they don't come back into camp, and if we can find theirs and pay them a little visit, I think we can ensure that."

Daryl tilted his head. "You sure? I mean, between the three of you, I don't see how any of you has a chance to find where it actually leads to."

"You trying to say we can't find this son of a bitch?" Shane asked, ice chipping every word.

"You wouldn't get three feet past where I led you." Daryl snarled low in his throat. Shane made to advance on him and spit a retort but Rick pushed himself between the two men.

"Doesn't matter. We're gonna try. But Daryl, I need you out hunting. We're running real low on food. We're gonna have to make another run into Atlanta soon for more supplies."

Glenn visibly paled. Daryl understood, but unlike the Chinaman, his interest was peaked. A trip into Atlanta meant he could keep hunting for his brother, and that was worth risking his life for.

"Fine then. Good luck." He said, spitting on the ground at Shane's feet before turning around and heading back to his tent to get his crossbow. Anger and aggravation rolled through him with every step but he didn't turn back. Heat poured over his skin from the unrelenting Georgia sun but he welcomed the chance to think about something else. Here he was, the best tracker in the whole damn group, and they had him out looking for squirrels.

"Fuckin' morons is what they are." He told himself as he shouldered his bow and headed into the trees the same way he had two days ago. He was quiet for a while until he made his way down the hill again. "If they wanna go get their faces torn off, fine by me."

He quieted down again as soon as he moved deeper into the canopy and started to really hunt, beginning to pay attention to every sight and every sound that moved through the trees. He had to go further than he usually did to find his first squirrel, but he strung it up without a problem. As he did so, he had that tingling feeling at the base of his neck. A twig snapped.

Someone was watching him.

A quick check of his surroundings yielded nothing though. He decided to pull his balls out of his gut and stop worrying about every little thing and just keep going. He shot and killed three more squirrels almost without even noticing what he was doing, just rhythmically going through the motions, trying not to think about the increasing feeling of being watched. But the tingling in his neck and the disturbed air kept eating at him, like a splinter in his brain. No matter how many times he turned around to check to see if he was being watched or followed there was nothing but he couldn't shake that shadowed feeling.

The heat grew deeper and thicker the longer the day wore on. He ignored the way his muscles began to burn and the wound in his side throbbed and kept tracking. He snagged two more rabbits by noon and just kept going, determined to bring back enough food for a few days at least. Depending on how the next few days went, he might stay out and wait for a deer- they usually only emerged at dawn or dusk. A deer would be a helluva prize and would feed twenty people for at least a week as long as they were careful.

He moved deeper into the woods and shot down two more squirrels before he couldn't take the hunger any longer and in a moment of selfishness found a place to rest a few yards away from the creek. As he sat down on a large smooth rock he unstrung the animals that he'd collected through the day and set it on the rock in front of him to keep it from hitting the dirt. He took his freshest kill and using his knife slit the critter open. His brother had taught him a long time ago not to be squeamish when it came to what food you could find, and in what state it was in when you found it. Winters, even in Georgia, could be long, hard, and cold. Sometimes you had to eat what was around, when it was around. He picked through and ate all of the internal organs that were safe like the heart before starting in on the muscle, gristle, and connective tissue. His teeth tore through it, warm blood coating his fingers as he scraped the gutted body cavity, making sure not to miss anything edible. The meat was salty and gamy but it was familiar and slid down easy enough. He was licking his fingers clean when he heard a distinctive thump.

He whipped around and almost froze at what he saw. His knife, the little one he'd given away as bait, and had likely been what had cut him last night, was embedded into a soft cedar tree that was directly to his back. He got up to his feet and immediately let his crossbow come to an armed, defensive position.

"I've had just about enough of your fucking games!" he snarled into the woods. "Come out and face me like a man!"

He heard the sound of rustling brush but saw nothing at first. Until he heard the softest scrape of a knife cutting rope. He whirled around and caught sight of the back of the intruder running for the hills. He squinted in the blasting light of the Georgia sun as he thought he saw red hair swayed against their back as they ran for what was sure to be their life, disappearing up the embankment and out of sight again.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked himself as he jerked his knife out of the tree. He bent down to collect his catches and noticed, with a flush of intense anger, that one of his squirrels was missing. The bastard had stolen it. How the fuck had they gotten so close without him noticing? That was far more bothersome and unsettling than even being grazed by his own knife.

His instinct was to go after the intruder, take his squirrel and several of his enemy's teeth, and be done with the whole situation, but logic overruled at the last second. He was still injured; the terrain wasn't as familiar because of how far he'd had to go from camp to find food, and he had a sneaking suspicion that if they'd gotten this close to him, they were armed, or at least had backup waiting for them. Nobody could be that stupid to go after someone like him alone and steal food, even if they didn't know his reputation, not without insurance backing them up.

He strung his critters back up, grabbed his bow and wrenched his knife from the tree with more force than was necessary. He double timed it back towards camp, swearing to God Almighty that he heard laughter following him, anger fueling his intense pace. He'd almost cleared the tree line back at camp when he felt an indentation in the handle of his knife. He looked down and inspected the handle and saw with surprise that a single word had been carved into the wood.

_Thanks_

As soon as he was back in camp he dropped his catch off at the RV and stalked directly to Rick, not caring that he was speaking with Morales and Shane at the moment. As soon as he approached Morales took off. He shoved the handle of the knife into the sheriff's face.

"They're fucking with us now." He growled.

Rick's eyebrow cocked upward and he took the knife from Daryl's bloody fingers. Shane was also intrigued and Rick passed him the knife to inspect it before Rick took it back and handed it to Daryl.

"Where did you find it?"

"Out away from camp. I was hunting maybe three or four miles out. I'd stopped for a breather and heard the sound of the knife hitting the tree. It had to have been thrown, no way they could have come up behind me without me hearing it. I turned to check what had happened, the bastard cut one of my squirrels free and took off into the woods."

"And you didn't follow?" Shane asked, surprise coloring his tone.

"I ain't that stupid. They tried to gut me once, and if they had balls enough to get that close to me, I know they're armed." Daryl growled, but now his attention was focused back on Rick. The man paused for a while, thinking over what he was going to say carefully.

"Alright. Its clear we have to do something about this. If they're being this blatant about messing with us, we can't think they won't come back, and possibly with others. I wonder if they're a scout for another group, trying to find out what they can about us before someone else attacks."

Under any other circumstances, that assessment might have sounded paranoid, but given the fact the world had ended and it was a free for all for whoever could take what they thought was owed to them, it wasn't so illogical. Daryl nodded in agreement.

"It don't really matter who they are. We gotta get rid of them. One way or another."

Shane said quietly.

"Alright. They're obviously fast enough and smart enough to wait until we're either vulnerable or our guard is down. So we have to prepare for that." Rick said, beginning to pace.

An idea occurred to Daryl as he was watching Rick move back and forth. He didn't know why this hadn't hit him in the face earlier but there was nothing to be done about that now.

"We can set a trap for them. Not at camp, but just outside in the trees. They've taken the same path each time, the one that leads to the embankment and the creek bed the quickest. If we set a trap right at that edge, and herd them towards it, we have a shot of catching them, and figuring out if they're alone or if they're with others."

"Think it'll work?" Rick asked, turning to Shane.

"What kind of trap did you have in mind?"

Daryl was surprised that Shane was actually asking for his opinion but he decided to take it with a several pinches of salt.

"We've got rope and some other supplies. Something to tangle them up so they can't get away. I can work on it and have it ready by nightfall."

Rick paused, mulling it over in his mind the way a cement mixer churns through its contents. At last he let his fingertips graze the side of his revolver before answering.

"Take me and a few others down to where you saw them today. If they keep running like this, they've obviously got a safe place to go back to, and they've been there for a while if they know the terrain well. If we can find it, we can run them off without wasting supplies hopefully. If it doesn't work, then we'll set the traps."

Daryl met the cop's eyes with a compromise. It wasn't what he would have done, but he wasn't calling the shots either. He could have if he wanted to, at least for himself, but Rick was no fool, and he was inclined to trust him. At least a little. He'd led the others out of Atlanta, and thus far, kept them safe. "Fair enough. Saddle up though, it's a walk."

Rick nodded. Shane headed back towards his tent just as Andrea, Amy, and Dale came out of the RV to see what was going on.

"You're leaving?" Andrea asked as Daryl shouldered his bow.

Rick nodded. "The intruder stole one of Daryl's squirrels today. They're getting bolder. Its time we find them and chase them off. Daryl thinks we're close to their camp. If we can't find them today, we'll start setting traps around the camp incase they come crawling back."

Dale nodded his head in agreement. "Hopefully it's just the one."

"Don't matter. We'll run them off, regardless." Daryl growled. It wasn't just the loss of the squirrel that was aggravating the shit out of him. It was that this punk-ass son of a bitch had slipped through his fingers for this long. And now it wasn't just playing cat and mouse. Now they were laughing at him, and he hated that more than anything else in the world. Merle and his dad had known that about him, and used it against him, and it didn't matter how old he got, it could always rile a response out of him. Sometimes his response was a punch straight to their face, and more often than not, they would kick him straight back down. It didn't matter. He'd die before he let people's laughter at his expense go unanswered.

"Alright well, Amy and me are headed down to the quarry to do some fishing. Carl caught us a bunch of crickets and worms for bait." Andrea said, tying up her long blonde hair into a messy bun at the back of her head.

Rick nodded. "Thanks girls. Be careful." Amy smiled and Andrea tilted her head in Rick's direction, cutting her eyes away from Daryl as they moved past them and Shane as he approached, Glenn in tow. Ed brought up the rear. Daryl wasn't in any way excited to see the man, but he had a shotgun slung across his shoulder, and the more guns that a group could have, the better off they were.

"Shane says you're going back out today?" Glenn asked.

"We're close to getting rid of this problem. Might as well take care of it before they move closer." Daryl said. He was tired of standing around and yapping. Even though it was high summer, there was only so much daylight. He could still track at night, but given the choice, he'd rather be back at camp when the moon rose.

"Then I'm going too." Glenn said with a sharp nod. Shane snorted in amusement to which Glenn gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything. Rick just shrugged.

"I'm going as well. This bitch has gotten just a little too close to my tent a couple times now. I'm gonna deal with this even if you idiots won't." He cocked the shotgun and Daryl's blood seethed.

"You blind or somethin'? I damn near got gutted chasing this bastard off. You're the one in your tent jerking off while the rest of us are out doing work, so don't give me that shit." Daryl snarled.

"You wanna get closer and say that to my face?" Ed challenged, holding the shotgun loose in one hand, opening his arms in an expression of 'come at me.'

"Why don't you stop cowering behind a cop and come over here and shut my mouth." Daryl taunted.

"Back off!" Rick snapped, pushing himself between the two men. Daryl shot the man a shit eating grin over Rick's shoulder and even though the sheriff gave him a 'knock your shit off already' expression, Daryl couldn't be bothered to listen.

"We gotta get this done. Let's go."

Without another word Daryl started towards the trees, the others following behind. The temperature cooled a little as they came under the shade and even after all of the shit that had happened, Daryl could still appreciate a minute amount of relief from the sun. Glenn attempted to make small talk but it didn't go very far. Daryl had never been big on words, not like Merle. Merle could spin yarn all night long. When he was older he used to creep up on his brother's meetings with his friends and listen to them swap stories about sex and good drugs. He always made sure not to get caught though; Merle didn't take kindly to being spied on as he put it.

"How much further?" Glenn panted after they'd climbed yet another hill after almost an hour and a half of walking. The heat was still unrelenting and there was a soft rumble of thunder above their heads, but they weren't going to be deterred this time. Daryl was determined to get rid of this problem once and for all. Ed's labored breathing was treading on his every last nerve, but he did his best to just ignore it.

"Not far." Daryl said beginning to make his way down the shallow embankment. He saw the smears of blood on the rock he'd had lunch at earlier and when he reached it, he paused to make sure that he didn't disturb the trail. Sure enough, that son of a bitch had crept right up on him, right behind his back while he was turned around inspecting the knife that had been thrown into the tree at his back. There were a few coarse fibers caught in the underbrush from where the rope that had held his squirrels had been cut.

"This way." He said quietly, getting the rest of the group's attention. He had dropped into his hunter mode. He could feel deep in his bones how close he was. Even though he was sure it was a trick of the heat, he thought he caught the faint tang of ocean on his tongue as he breathed in deep.

They fanned out as he led them up the next hill. When they reached the top and gazed out over the expanse of forest they saw nothing to indicate human inhabitation. At least nothing until Daryl led them down the hill and he looked closer.

"They were here!" he barked. There were signs of a fire, blood, and grey squirrel fur scattered amongst the leaves.

"Must have eaten your squirrel and taken off." Ed stated the obvious. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"No shit Sherlock." The tracker muttered. He got up from the ground and headed East through the valley that parallel hills in front and behind them created. East was where him and the intruder had tussled, and there were faint tracks headed in that direction. The group penned in closer as the valley began to narrow but as Daryl rounded the bend, he halted.

"What is it now?" Ed complained.

"Smell that?" he asked. He'd thought he'd caught it back at the last hill but he hadn't been positive. Now he was sure. It was Walker smell. He was just about to say so when they heard the tell tale wheezing growls.

They all spun around and saw a mangled Walker following them in the valley. It'd been dead for a long time, it's eyes rotted out, half of its face had been eaten, its clothes were shredded and several chunks of flesh were torn free of its limbs.

"Come on!" Rick hissed, taking the lead and heading them around the bend as quietly but as quickly as possible. The Walker followed them, moving in its jerky yet surprisingly fast way, running towards them with flailing limbs.

"Oh shit!" Glenn whined as he suddenly skidded to a stop.

They were facing a mob of about ten Walkers in the valley in front of them and there were others that were beginning to crawl and skid down the tops of the hills to hem them in.

"Defensive positions, we've got enough shots, we can take them!" Shane barked.

"No! If there's this group, then there's more, we gotta go, now! That way!" Rick called. There was a small gap around the Walkers to their left and they all bolted for it, but the firm valley ground had begun to turn to slick mud. The Walkers yowled and hissed and lunged towards them, the overwhelming stench of death and rot making Daryl want to puke. He kept going, deciding not to waste an arrow until he absolutely had to, running full tilt after Glenn who had taken the lead. Ed was surprisingly right behind him and Rick and Shane were bringing up the rear. There was a gunshot and Daryl whipped around to see that Shane had fired, killing a Walker that had almost grabbed him from the side of the hill.

"Keep moving!" the cop yelled, running full tilt after them as the horde just kept coming.

"Shit!" Glenn yelped from about a fifty yards ahead of them. There was a pile of sticks, logs, thorns, and underbrush, almost like a beaver's dam, blocking their path. It wasn't that they couldn't have climbed over, it was that there were more Walkers clambering over it, snagging pieces of their flesh as they did so, heedless to all pain.

"Now what?" Glenn panicked as they pressed in close together while the Walkers began to advance on them in their slow but unrelenting way.

"Is there anything over the wall?" Rick asked. He fired a shot from his pistol at a Walker that was getting too close for comfort. It went down, brains and blood gushing from the hole opened up in his skull.

"Couldn't see!"

"Back to back, we've got no choice now!" Shane snarled as he let off another shot. And although his voice was mostly strained with the thick of battle, Daryl could hear the anger, as if he'd known this was going to happen.

"Shane's right. Move, now!" Rick ordered.

They formed a loose circle and began to fire, blasting Walker skulls to bits. Daryl waited until three Walkers were lined up before shooting with his crossbow. The arrow was going at such a high speed and at such close range it penetrated all three skulls, dropping them down instantly.

"They're getting closer!" Ed yowled as he had to kick a Walker in the shin before blasting its face with the shotgun.

"There!" Rick panted. "Come on!"

Daryl spun around, not caring he probably looked like a ballerina to avoid having a piece of his flesh taken off to see what Rick was talking about. The cop was already running towards a small break in the line, back they way they'd come. They all headed after him, trying to steer clear of the slick mud as the warbling snarl of the horde pursued them ceaselessly.

They'd almost made it through when Daryl felt his feet slide out from under him. He went crashing down into the mud right beside Glenn whose sneakers had also failed him. He went face first towards the dirt, crying out in panicked fear as the Walkers lunged for them, bony fingers straining to hold them down so they could sink their rotting teeth into their flesh.

"Help!" Glenn screamed as he kicked out wildly, his flailing limbs throwing mud everywhere as he struggled to avoid a bite or scratch. Daryl wasn't much better off. Every time his feet were under him he had to kick a Walker in the face, setting back his progress on getting to his feet. He managed to get his knife out from its holster and plunged it straight into one of their skulls, but another rose to take its place, lunging to sink its teeth into the meat of his arm.

Screaming filled the forest air and a massive crack from a gunshot sounded as Daryl's life flashed before his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Back again, and so soon! With all of the wonderful reviews I received so quickly, I felt that a reward was definitely in order, so here you are my lovelies. Enjoy!**_

**Emberka-2012**:_ Oh. Daryl dreamed about chupacabra. A good idea to put a trap. I hope one way or another they catch this thief._

Indeed, there are things in Daryl's past that still haunt him, but isn't that how it always goes? And as to the thief, your patience has been rewarded ;)

**DesDesxoxo**: _Seriously! You can't end it like that! I really hate cliff-hangers. Please update soon :)_

Glad to see a new reviewer, I'm glad you're liking the story thus far. I know, I hate cliff-hangers too, but hey, it's the Walking Dead, where would a story in this world be without the fate of our favorite characters in the balance?

**FanficGirl10**: _Cliffhanger! You have to update soon!_

Thanks to generous reviewers like yourself who piped up, I have been encouraged to update as fast as I can. =)

**Ladyd10**: _This is the first Walking Dead fic I've read and I'm really enjoying it. You have the characters down to the point that I can hear their voices in my head as I read. Awesome job and please keep writing. This is a terrific story. More, please!_

Reviews like this always warm my heart and make my muse squee with happiness. I can't tell you how many clips/episodes of the Walking Dead I've watched over and over again, noting the characters reactions, their expressions, their mannerisms. All in hopes to make the story accurate and as real as possible, and I'm so glad to hear its paying off.

**jalenreedmua**: _I really really really wanna meet her! update soon! Awesome story._

Your patience has been rewarded my friend. =)

**speedfanatic05**: _(Chapter 3 review) Sorry about the delay. I finally had some time to catch up with this story. everything about the story rings true. You've kept the characters in time with the show while still maintaining your voice. I love the descriptions and even more so, the action! Reading felt akin to watching the show; every nail biting moment leading to even more nail biting moments. Truly a work of art. Excellent chapter!_

Fantastic! As I've said before, and hopefully will continue to say, my main focus was to keep the characters as real to who they are in the show as much as possible. It is well worth the research and the time and the revisions when I am graced with reviews like this.

**speedfanatic05**: _Absolutely, the best chapter yet! I would be remiss to say that the action with the arrival of the Walkers wasn't the pull here but also, the interaction between the men lends to the gravity of it all. Even though they've been together for quite some time, they don't really trust each other- that is until they have to pull together. I love where this is going…I'm going to take a guess and say that the intruder is about to save Daryl and the gang. Excellent chapter!_

Well after several chapters of slow build-up, I thought it was the least I could do to reward my wonderful readers and reviewers with what we love about this series- zombies! I have done my best to perfect, and hopefully will continue to perfect, my skills in writing detailed action sequences. I can't tell you the countless hours I've spent watching action movies and taking mental notes for my own writing purposes. As to the build up between the characters, yes, it all seethes and roils beneath the surface how this group of people, many at complete odds with one another, must come together in order to survive. And you shall have your reward and find out what happens between Daryl and his long hunted quarry =)

**NightCoringMadness**: _It's ok it's the good caps I wasn't expecting any of this to happen its so cray-cray_

Haha, I wondered if that was the case. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far, and that it has kept you guessing thus far. I hope I continue to do so. And yes. Things have gotten a little crazy. There's always more where that came from.

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Interesting story. Can't wait to read more!_

Yay! Another new reviewer! I'm glad you have found your way to my humble tale and I hope I continue to peak your interest! Thanks for dropping in!

* * *

The next breath in Daryl's lungs was filled with the taste of rot, blood, and death, but it was icy cold somehow and it kicked his brain back into gear. He didn't know who had screamed, hell, maybe it had been him, but it didn't matter now. All that mattered was life.

He wrenched his knife free from the Walker's skull, slashed another across the face as he simultaneously kicked one in the jaw. Still on his back he made sure to clench his lips shut to prevent the putrid Walker blood and flesh from falling into his mouth as they swarmed him, doing their best to rip his flesh from his bones like he would a rack of good barbeque ribs. He slashed and stabbed and kicked and probably snarled like a wild animal as he fought to save his life. He finally managed to get his knees under him and throw himself forward, tackling a Walker and stabbing it in the eye socket, the eyeball itself gushing its fluids on his blade as he pulled it free. He scrambled to his feet at last and whirled around.

Glenn was still on the ground, letting out high-pitched whines of terror as he smacked another Walker in the jaw with his shotgun trying desperately to get his feet under him. It was pure human instinct when Daryl made his decision. He didn't think about the fact that if he saved the kid's life he could potentially have leverage or some other bargaining chip against him. It was just a human being against a pack of Walkers, and no one deserved to die by being ripped to pieces. He swung his crossbow forward and fired, spearing a Walker that was holding Glenn to the ground.

"Get the hell up boy!" he yelled over the din of gunfire and Walker growls. He was about to plunge back into the fray when he heard the savage wet snarl of another flesh eating freak that had once been a human being right behind him.

He would have been too late. By the time he had turned the monster was lunging at him and would have sunk its rotting teeth into his shoulder, but as it was, it crumpled with a last death rattle, a blade imbedded in its skull. He spun back around wildly, searching for who had thrown it. Rick, Shane, and Ed were off about fifty feet away, their backs turned to him, still shooting and dodging the remaining mob of Walkers. Glenn was on his way towards them, drawing the rest of the freaks away. But above them, on the rise of the embankment could only be the person he'd been tracking this whole time.

"What you staring for! Get back to work!" she shouted as she let loose another knife, impaling another Walker that had crawled free of the body pile and was about to take a chunk out of his ankle.

She.

The voice was undeniably feminine although it was husky and thick with the hot rush of battle. He picked up his bow and fired another arrow that took out a Walker ready to tear Rick's head clean off behind his back and ran to help the others.

"Up there!" he shouted, pointing to where he'd seen the girl on the rise, but she was gone again.

"Daryl, Shane, after her! Go, now! We got this!" Rick hollered. He let loose another shot from his revolver, the almighty cracking sound it gave off just like thunder.

Daryl didn't waste time. He sprinted up the hill, slinging his bow around his body, ignoring the stinging pain in his side that burned with every footstep. Shane was overtaking him, his longer legs devouring the ground as they raced after their fleeing quarry.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" Shane yelled as he drew his gun one more time. Daryl could hear the tenor of his cop self in his voice. He'd heard that voice before. He knew what it felt like to have a cop pull a gun on him.

The fleeing female kept running, sprinting like a terrified jackrabbit. The speed with which she moved was impressive, but no human being could outrun a bullet. Shane slowed for half a second and Daryl watched as he squeezed the trigger on his gun. The sound of the shot filled the forest air with smell of smoke and reverberating rumbling as they kept running. Their target had staggered with a high-pitched yowl so Daryl assumed she'd been hit.

"You fucking bastard! I saved your life!" There was the sharp ring of pain and fresh spilled blood in her husky voice, but defiance and anger too. Shane didn't even wait for an explanation, he tackled her and pinned her to the ground.

"Get the hell off me!" she screeched, kicking and screaming with all her might, and though it was an impressive display, Daryl had no desire to have the sound draw the Walkers towards them again and joined in the fray to help hold her down.

"Shut the hell up! Don't think just cause you're a woman I wouldn't kick your teeth in if you bring those Walkers back to us! Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?" Daryl growled. He fisted his hand into her hair and leaned his knee into her shoulder, forcing her down to the ground while Shane used his belt to bind her hands behind her back, his body weight pinning down her lower half.

"Oh please! I took some food and a knife, big fucking deal, you treat me like I tried to kill you or something!" She wheezed and whined in pain while Shane securely trussed her wrists behind her back. When Shane lifted his eyebrows at him he let his knee out of her shoulder and he jerked her over to her back.

"Hold still now, I wanna see how bad you're hit, you got it? Don't think I wouldn't shoot you again if you try anything." Shane said, every ounce of his cop authority he could muster dripping from each word.

"And don't think I won't gut you if you try something. Sure you got my hands, but I don't need those to make it hurt where it counts, dumbass."

Daryl tried not to laugh but he couldn't deny he'd pay a hefty price to see Shane's nuts kicked in by anyone, even her. He grew serious again when she squirmed beneath him while Shane checked her over, searching for where she'd been hit, and for weapons. Blood trickled down her flank and when Daryl squatted down he lifted up the edge of her shirt and saw the grazed rip of a bullet on her hip and fresh scarlet blood trickling down pale alabaster skin.

"Well Dr. House, think I'll live?" she asked, looking up at Daryl when he let her shirt go and stared her in the face. The fiercest green eyes he'd ever seen stared straight back at him, not an ounce of cowardice or apology in them. It riled his already short temper.

"Yeah, you'll live. At least from that." He growled before he picked her up under the arm and forced her on her feet. "Come on, you're coming with us."

Just then they heard voices coming from bottom of the hill. Shane left the girl in Daryl's hands and went to help Rick and the others up the rise. Ed was cradling a bleeding arm while Glenn edged away from him. Rick was in the lead, storming up the hill.

"You got her?" he demanded.

"Yeah, we got her." Daryl barked, stepping aside so when the cop crested the hill he could see their quarry.

Rick stalked over to the girl and didn't waste any time. He grabbed her chin in his hand and turned her face this way and that as if unbelieving that this little scrap of flesh and blood could have thwarted them for this long. Daryl was in a little bit of disbelief as well.

"You search her?"

"That was my last knife you idiots, why the hell you think I took off running?" she shot, spitting at Daryl's feet. He squeezed her upper arm with a bruising grip but if it hurt she showed no pain on her face.

"Come on, we gotta get back to camp. Shane, take Ed, he messed up his foot in the chase. Glenn keep an eye out for any Walker stragglers. Daryl, hold her. I'll scout ahead." Rick barked. He took off towards camp and Shane begrudgingly slung Ed's arm over his shoulder and helped him to hobble in the direction of home. Daryl pushed the prisoner forward even as she tried to thrash her way free. Moving anywhere with her throwing herself every which way like a stubborn, pissed off horse was causing a racket, and wearing on his already thin patience.

"Stop making this hard! You got caught, live with it! We ain't gonna kill ya!" Daryl snapped as he lightly smacked the back of her head with the heel of his hand when she tried to break his toes with her impressive Doc Martens that went halfway up her calves. He dimly noticed that those had been the shoes to make the print that started this whole mess.

"Ed didn't just hurt his foot. A Walker got him!" Glenn hissed when they were sufficiently far enough ahead of the injured man to be out of earshot.

The girl's eyes burned. "You should put him down. Save you the trouble of doing it later, when he can kill you easier."

"Shut your mouth!" Daryl retorted. "He's one of us. You ain't, so I wouldn't be in such an all fire hurry to play judge and jury." He knocked her head down again to which she balked. She flung her head to the left and cracked him in the jaw with her skull. In his brief lapse of focus because of the pain spreading through the side of his face, she almost twisted free. But he clamped his fingers down onto her wrist and rolled with her, taking her back to the ground. They scuffled for a moment until Daryl managed to get his knife free and press it lightly against her throat. His chest was against her back as she tried to thrash against him, until he deepened the pressure of his knife on her throat and she stilled marginally.

"Do you know how easy it would be for me to kill you?" he hissed in her ear. He inhaled and tasted her perfume again, and although he liked the smell and he wished he didn't have to be so rough with her, she left him no choice, and if he killed her because of it, it would be her fault.

"Do it then. Save me the bother of getting eaten." She snapped.

"You got balls little bitch." Daryl growled directly in her ear. He felt her stiffen slightly, her back tensing against his chest. "You're going the right way to get 'em whacked off."

"Nobody's killing anybody. Least not yet." Shane said through clenched teeth as he helped Ed stumble forward. "Let's go."

Daryl hauled her up to her feet again and pushed her forward, using the tip of his knife in between her shoulder blades to make her more compliant. She still struggled and tried to balk several times, but bit by bit they recovered the ground they lost and made it back to camp, Rick leading the way.

"Ed! Ed!" Carol called fearfully as soon as she saw her husband being dragged at this point by Shane. They laid him out in the shade while the other women rushed over to try and help. Daryl held the prisoner still while Rick came over.

"What to do with you now?" he mused. He paced slowly in front of her but she seemed to be looking past him.

"Gonna kill me, Long Legs?" she asked as Shane jogged over now that Ed was in the capable hands of his wife and other members of the camp. Daryl didn't need to be explicitly told that Rick was keeping the secret of his bite quiet. He must have bandaged it or concealed it somehow before they started back to camp.

"Maybe. If you don't cooperate." Shane threatened, a cold, callous gleam in his eye as his fingers found his gun. She actually bared her teeth at him before spitting at his feet. Daryl couldn't decide if it was bravado or if she really had the balls to be unafraid of him, and the rest of the group.

"We need to deal with Ed and the others. He doesn't have too much longer." Rick said softly. "But we can't let her wander."

"Tie her down somewhere until we handle the Ed situation. Once its over, we'll come back to her." Shane said.  
"I'm right here you know." She drawled, looking at them a with pointed, annoyed gaze.

"Yeah, we're so aware. You've been here before." Daryl muttered, pulling harshly on her wrists to cut off her retort as Rick's mental cogs continued to spin.

"Tie her to one of the trees, use the rope in the RV. We'll deal with her later." He decided.

Daryl shrugged as Shane went to get the rope from the RV while the hunter dragged her towards a suitable tree, a very sturdy oak with several thick lower branches. He waited until Shane came back with the rope before addressing her.

"Alright girl. Make this easy on yourself." He said in a low, warning tone. He didn't really want to kill this girl. He would if she put the rest of the group in danger, but Shane had a much more itchy trigger finger than most. He'd kill her for provocation without proof, Daryl was pretty sure.

"Or what? I ain't afraid to die." She snapped.

Shane kicked her feet out from under her. She hit her knees and Daryl immediately pushed her arms up, forcing her to double over. They put enough pressure against her back to force her to not move while Shane cautiously removed his belt. Immediately she thrashed as much as she could, her hair flinging wildly as she pulled and strained and snarled almost like a Walker, but to no avail. Shane trussed her wrists nice and tight before tying them above her head, forcing her to stand almost on her tip toes. Once he made sure the knot was secure, both men stepped back.

"We'll be back for you later." Shane promised before going over where the women were attempting to tend to Ed but he was thwarting them, trying to push them away, although he could barely move. Daryl stayed where he was, surveying the girl that had caused him so much aggravation over the past several days.

She was about Glenn's age, probably not even twenty-five. If he'd seen her on the street, Daryl would have pegged her as a degenerative punk- her hair was dyed blood red and fell in messy layers around her face and tumbled a few inches past her shoulders. Now he knew why it looked so dark at night. He'd seen enough blood in the moonlight to know it looked black under the silver glow. A silver ring gleamed from the side of her lip, and another bar glinted in her ear. Her pale skin was starting to become familiar to him, as were her green eyes which at this point were so full of venom, he was surprised he hadn't dropped dead yet.

"Well you ain't skin and bones like some of the stragglers we've found, so you must be able to take care of yourself." Daryl assessed, nudging her legs. Her boots were beat up but not in danger of wearing out any time soon. She wore short denim shorts and a studded belt and a black T-shirt that he noticed had a tear in one of the sleeves. He smirked inwardly a little as he remembered the scrap of black fabric he'd pulled from the tree yesterday. He noticed now that she wore a holster for a knife on her hip, almost identical to his, but the knife was missing.

"You lose your blade? That why you tried to take mine?"

She hissed and struggled, trying to kick him as his fingers scraped the rough fabric of the holster. He retreated and she bared her teeth.

"Didn't lose it. I put it somewhere safe." She said when she'd regained her composure, a slight smirk twitched the edge of her lips.

"What you leering at?" he spat, irritated that despite being tied up and weaponless she could look at him like he was a piece of meat to be carved up for her dinner.

"My knife is in the skull of the zombie that almost took your head off the hard way. Like I said. Safe place." Despite hanging in a tree as a prisoner she seemed terribly pleased with herself. She had a shit eating grin on her face, just like Merle used to get when he was trying to rile his baby brother up.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You lose it somewhere upstairs girl?" She wasn't making any sense, at least not to him.

"Haven't we all lost it?" she shot back, a feral grin sliding across her features. Despite that look, she had a pretty face, feminine but strong. Her bones had that stubborn set to them, that mule-look his brother used to call it. There was an edge to her features, something sharp, gleaming, and relentlessly enraged that she'd been caught, and it tainted her expression as her teeth continued to show in her grin.

"What's your name, kid?" he questioned. On the far side of camp he could hear the sound of tears and Carl came to pull Sophia away from the pressed in crowd around Ed. He wasn't sorry the man was dying- he'd been an abusive asshole to his wife, and probably his daughter too, and any man who would hit a woman like Carol deserved to die painfully, but he was sorry that his wife and daughter had to hurt over it. He turned back to the question at hand.

"I'm not a kid. And you're never gonna get my name from me." She hissed, smirking again as if she enjoyed driving him crazy.

"Why not? The world's gone to shit, it ain't like if you ran off somewhere I could hunt you down with your name alone. In fact I wouldn't even need your name to hunt you if you escaped." He mused, throwing a smirk right back in her face, hoping to aggravate her. It only served to deepen her grin.

"Cause. It's the only thing that belongs to me anymore." She said quietly, losing the grin and her expression became serious, almost solemn. She paused for a minute. "Now would you leave please? Someone in your camp is dying. Go to them. I don't need you in my face, and you don't need to be messing with me. Won't do you any good."

"I don't care if that bastard is dying." He said coldly. He said it in part to scare her, but instead of fear, her expression turned to stone. Edged stone, like she wanted to rip his throat out with her teeth. He kept going anyway. "He got what he deserved. So lemme make it clear to you. We ain't saints, and we ain't knights in shinning armor begging the favor of ladies. You're a prisoner. Get that through your head."

She just laughed as he turned and stalked away. It was all he could do to not go back and choke the sound of her laughter from her throat until she was unconscious.

Rick, Dale, T-dog, and Glenn were standing several paces away from where Carol and Lori were resting on their knees beside Ed's body. Daryl could tell by the movement of his chest he was still alive, but only just. The long hike back to camp had sped up the infection.

"What you wanna do with this one?" Daryl asked. He put the echo of the prisoner's laughter out of his mind as much as he could and tried to pretend she didn't exist for the moment. There was the pressing manner of a soon to be Walker in their camp.

"We wait till he dies. Then we make sure he stays dead." Shane answered bluntly.

"Not what I meant." Daryl explained, clearing his mouth with a swig from a nearby canteen. The taste of blood and death was still faintly there but it wasn't so noticeable now.

"Well what did you mean cause we ain't got time to debate this all day." Shane barked.

Daryl cut his eyes at the man coldly before turning towards Rick. "I meant who's the one to kill him when he comes back?"

"Me."

Carol stood up from the grass. Daryl looked her over and was surprised by how much resolve and fortitude he saw in her. She had always looked frail and vulnerable even in the relative safety of the camp, but perhaps there was a deeper strength beneath her skin.

"He was my husband and the father of my child. I'll wait until he's dead, but I'll be the one."

Rick nodded. "So be it." He said before he pulled Lori away to allow Carol to sit vigil with her husband until the end.

"What about the prisoner? She say anything?" the cop questioned.

"She talks in riddles man. I think maybe she's crazy or somethin'." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Did she at least say her name?"

Daryl shook his head. "Said she wasn't giving it up."

Rick sighed. "Alright, we'll deal with her later, after Carol takes care of Ed." He paused for a moment before whistling and calling Glenn over, who came like an appreciative dog.

"Glenn, go keep an eye on the prisoner. Talk to her, see if she'll tell you anything. Don't interrogate her, just be friendly, if you can." Rick instructed.

"Me? Why me?" Glenn asked, the barest trace of a whine in his voice. Daryl could have smacked him for it, but he resisted.

"Because you're around her age and you're tough enough to handle her. She'd just scare Amy away and then Andrea would come over and make a mess of things. Just talk to her, see what she'll tell you. We'll be around in a while."

Glenn nodded and headed towards the tree. Daryl turned back to Rick who was staring out towards where his wife and son were sitting near their tent.

"That many Walkers in the woods, you know we can't stay here much longer. It's only a matter of time before they find us." Daryl said quietly.

A muscle in Rick's cheek flicked and his jaw tightened. "I know. But we can't just clear out of here without thinking about it. There's not too many places like this with access to water and food. We have to figure out where we're gonna go before we go running off."

Daryl shrugged and stepped away silently. He went to the RV to start cleaning and prepping his kills from earlier for dinner but every so often he found himself glancing at the prisoner.

And every so often, she'd glance back.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Well my wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back! Depending on how this next week goes, you might get slower updates, because this is CRUNCH WEEK, aka the week before final exams. I have written several chapters in advance specifically for this occasion, so keep on sending me those wonderful reviews, and I can likely be persuaded to keep posting =) Thank you for all the encouragement so far, it truly does mean the world to me. _****_This is also a bit of a longer chapter, so I hope it will help tide you guys over incase updates become sparse. Now_**, on with the show!

**speedfanatic05**: _Very thrilling chapter! Kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I like Red (what I'll call her until she gives up her name, lol); she's very feisty and not one to mince her words. Seems like she's going to be a formidable foil for Daryl… Meanwhile Ed's taking his last breaths as a human…Pity -_- Excellent work!_

Excellent! I'm so glad that I was able to pull off the suspense and action and keep you turning pages so to speak. And I'm glad Red is being met with positive reviews, I dearly hoped she would be. I haven't read many TWD fanfics, but many start out at least with a kind of similar way mine does, so I'm hoping to make her unique and memorable =) And yes. She will get under Daryl's skin so much he won't even know what to do with himself by the time she's done, lol. And yes. poor Ed. Not really XD. Just desserts if you ask me.

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Finally she is caught! Great update!_

Yes, at last, she met her downfall. Little do they realize what they've gotten themselves into ;)

**jalenreedmua**: _Finally! And she's badass_

Hah! Yes! I'm so happy to hear someone say that. Completely made my day.

**Emberka-2012**: _Finally, she was caught. But now not clear what to do with her. Dangerous to let her go and dangerous to leave her in the camp._

True that. She's full of surprises, she is, as you'll soon see.

**arrelmai**:_ Just found your fic, and loving it so far :) Keep up the good work, looking forward to more :)_

Hi! I love new people who drop in and leave me such lovely comments. I hope I continue to keep you interested.

**X23 Maximoff**: _Oooooooh the plot thickens! I love what you have going on here, I can't wait to see what happens next! The way you write Daryl and the prisoner's interactions are fantastic- I'm feeling his frustrations, as well as her stern resolve. Very well done! Please update soon! -XM_

Poor Daryl, she's not gonna let him have one moment's peace. I'm so glad that the interactions are coming off as intended, I always want everything feel genuine.

**FanficGirl10**: _WOW! They caught her! I really hope she gets loose but doesn't try to run away just to mess with the group :) Update soon!_

Oh don't worry. She'll be messing with them alright. Daryl in particular. But isn't that what we came here for? Lol.

**lilnightmare17**:_ Ok I just started reading this and it is awesome I can't wait to read more so please update soon!_

Another new reviewer to add to my wonderful collection! Thanks for taking the time to drop in and share your thoughts. I hope I continue to keep your interest in the story and that you'll stick with me to the end =)

* * *

The entire day of sweating in the burning Georgia sun hadn't loosened the girl's tongue one bit. Almost all of the men in camp had, had their turn at her, but she hadn't cracked so far as to even give her name. Carol was still sitting vigil with Ed who somehow was still clinging to life. Daryl wasn't under any delusions though. He would die soon, and then it would be up to Carol to prove if she really could deliver the final blow.

"Come on, we ain't got time for this shit!" Shane cursed as he paced back and forth in front of their prisoner while Rick, Daryl, and Glenn watched just a few feet away.

She shrugged, completely unphased by his anger and growing frustration. "Time isn't what it used to be. If you haven't noticed, the world's ended. You got some place else to be?"

Shane tried to backhand her but Rick snagged his wrist before he could do so. Daryl wasn't sure if maybe they shouldn't smack her around, just a little bit, just to loosen up her tongue. She was the enemy after all. For all intensive purposes, she had tried to kill him once before, and she'd stolen supplies. And who knew if she had a group with her, a group that could be armed, that could come back for her.

"That's right, you tell your dog to heel." She growled, kicking at a tuft of grass baring her teeth at Shane. More and more Daryl was surprised by how animal like she was. He wondered what might have happened to her when the world went to shit or if she'd always been like this.  
Rick whirled around and grabbed her by the jaw, jerking her head down to force her to look into his eyes. "You get one thing straight. I may not hit you yet, but don't think that you're under some saving grace of God because you're a woman. You've stolen our supplies and put our people in danger. You are the enemy." Even without the break between his words, everyone present could hear the weight of his voice, and see the conviction in his eyes.

"Now, you tell us who you are, if you've got others with you, where they are, and what your intentions with us are."

She jerked her face out of his hand and actually laughed. "You think you can scare me, cop? I've already been to hell, and there isn't much you can do to send me back. You wanna torture me, go right ahead, I don't have anything to tell you."

"You mean you're alone?" Glenn asked softly. "There's nobody else with you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You see anybody else with me?" she scoffed sarcastically. She pulled a little on the rope binding her wrist and for the first time, Daryl could see a twinge of pain run across her features. The skin on her wrists was already very raw and scraped away in some places. Blood was slowly beginning to form underneath the rope.

"Be straight." Rick ordered but some of the viciousness had died in his voice. "Is there anybody else that you're with?"

"They're all dead." She said quietly, shooting him with daggers in her eyes. "It's just me. Nobody else made it out of the city."

Daryl saw Glenn's anxiety ease a little but something felt wrong to him. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but it was like the time he'd eaten a bad piece of meat. He'd had a sneaking suspicion that maybe it had been rotten, but he was hungry and lazy and had eaten it anyway. He'd paid for that mistake an hour later with his guts all over the bathroom floor and Merle laughing his ass off at him.

"Where were you camped? Why'd you keep coming back to ours?" Shane asked.

"Why wouldn't I? Supplies and shit lying around everywhere for the taking. You people, you're arrogant as hell you know. I've been stealing from you for weeks and you only just now noticed." She mocked them, and again, Daryl had to admire the gall to be so high and mighty while she was strung up like a deer about to be butchered. Shane's brow furrowed and his eyes flashed menacingly but a quick look from Rick silenced his oncoming insult.

"I was camped about five miles East of here. Would have stayed there too, except the zombies were coming. I had to get out." She paused for a minute, shooting Daryl a look. "Oh and you're welcome. I saved your miserable life." Her voice clearly said she wanted an acknowledgement from him.

But it wasn't to be had. "You didn't save jack shit girl." He spat at her feet. "You want us to cut you loose, you start acting like you're the odd man out and not queen bitch. Tell us your name."

She kicked at him again. "Good luck with that one." She fell silent and let her head hang loosely between her raised arms, almost as if she were going to sleep. Rick pulled back and the others instinctively followed.

"Well she's a piece of work ain't she?" Daryl muttered. "What you plan to do with her?"

"Well we can't just cut her loose. She'll come back, if only to piss us off." Shane said, his fingers lightly brushing the handle of his gun.

"I don't think she's dangerous. Maybe we should let her stay. She said she's alone. I mean we were all strays at one point or another." Glenn replied quietly. Daryl noticed he looked a little nervous as he spoke, but at least he had the balls to say what he thought.

"We can't go trusting her right now. Even if she's alone, she _is _dangerous, she could have killed Daryl once already. Who's to say she wouldn't kill one of us in the middle of the night!" Shane hissed angrily.

"One of her and twenty of us, and if we keep her on a short leash, she can't do that much damage." Glenn argued.

"How much damage is enough for you?" Shane snarled, advancing on the kid. Glenn skittered back like a nervous rabbit and Rick stepped forward.

"I agree. We can't trust her, not yet." His brow was furrowed heavily and he couldn't stop himself from looking over his shoulder back where Lori and Carl were sitting near their tent.

"So what? Leave her tied outside? Another mouth to feed?" Daryl growled. He had a hard enough time getting food as it was. "The woods are running out of food. I'm having to go further and further out. And now that we know there are Walkers in the woods, they'll be eating what food is there too. Remember that deer I lost?" His entire body burned at the memory, and not just at the loss of the deer. It had been the same day he'd lost his brother.

He could almost see Rick's spine buckling under the pressure. His neck bent forward as he ducked away from their eyes for a moment.

"We'll leave her tied out for a while, no food, only a little water. She won't die, and she might be a little more compliant. At the very least less dangerous even if she were to escape."

Daryl shrugged. "Your call, I personally think a few good lashings with a belt wouldn't hurt." He picked up his crossbow and stalked away.

He'd only just managed to get comfortable in the shade a few feet from his tent, working on a new arrow with a good stick and his knife, when he heard a shriek. Alarmed he got back up and ran towards the sound to find that almost the whole camp in a tense circle around Ed and Carol.

Ed's eyes had grown yellow and filmy, his skin was very pale, and his jaws were beginning to gnash hungrily, spittle dripping down the sides of his lips. Carol skittered back, terror clearly written over every inch of her expression. Daryl began to have his doubts if she could really put her late husband down for the final time. He stepped forward, ready to deal with the problem himself when Rick put an arm over his chest.

"Come on, Carol, you have to." Andrea whispered. She actually handed the woman her own gun but Rick grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry, but we can't use a gun. The noise will attract the Walkers in the woods." He turned and grabbed the pickax that was resting against the RV and handed it to Carol. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to." He added gently.

The Walker that had once been Ed now began to roll back and forth on the ground, almost like a turtle on its back, struggling to get to its feet. Carol's expression hardened but Daryl could see the tears welling up in her eyes. Again he felt sorry that she had to go through this pain, that she couldn't be glad that the bastard was dead and she was rid of him finally.

To his surprise, she raised the ax behind her, readying herself for a powerful swing. Everybody stepped several paces back, a few deciding to leave the scene to give her privacy and he noticed that Lori had both Carl and Sophia on the entire other side of camp, preventing them from seeing. That was good. Ed might have been a shitty father, but Sophia shouldn't have to see her mom bashing in her dad's skull.

With a strangled cry, Carol swung the pickax. The blade rammed home straight and true, right through Ed's forehead. His reanimated body wheezed a dying snarl before becoming motionless once again. Daryl expected Carol to pull back and at the very least walk away and cry, but she didn't. Instead she wrenched the pickax free and struck him again. And again. And again. Over and over until she finally collapsed to her knees crying weakly. His heart had a strong twinge of sympathy and he wished he knew what to say. He'd never known what to say when people were upset or at a loss for words. He withdrew but not before Carol managed to get to her feet and actually smiled a little, like she'd put down a very heavy pack after a long hike. It eased some of the tension in his chest.

He retreated to the quiet of the backside of camp, but also right where the prisoner was tied up. She caught his eye as he was about to pass and even though it was beginning to cool off, sweat was pouring down her face from having been in the sun all day.

"I heard the crying. The zombie was dealt with I take it." Her voice wasn't respectful, but it wasn't callous either. It was just a statement.

Daryl tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Ain't much else to do about it." He said. He was going to leave but she made a soft sound in her throat as though she were trying to speak but had lost the air in her lungs. He turned to see if she was alright and caught her eye. They were softer now, not nearly as menacing, and he wondered if perhaps because it was just the two of them she was easing up a little.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. Last night." She said, nodding towards the cut in his side, her eyes following up his chest to the wound on his neck. "I just wanted to get away."

He shrugged. "I figured. I'd of done what you did. 'Cept maybe woulda had better aim." She chuckled a little and he continued. "It wasn't personal."

Now she laughed outright, the glimmering, mischievous light back in her eyes even as she tugged on her bonds again. "You don't believe that."

He snorted at her and came closer, getting right in her face, close enough to smell her perfume again. That cold but still sweet ocean smell was getting very familiar. Too familiar.

"You're just like the fox that I had to catch when I was a kid. Was a female too. It was the driest summer I'd ever seen. There was no food in the woods, all the little critters had died of thirst or starvation. But the fox had her babies to care for, so she came sneaking around our chicken coop. Killed a couple of chickens until I finally laid a trap for her. I was gonna do the same with you. It was only a matter of time before I was going to catch you." Despite himself he could feel his lips twitching into a thin, shit eating grin.

He turned and walked away again to the sound of her laughter, and although it wasn't so irritating this time it still managed to wipe the smirk off his face.

To his surprise during dinner it was a much closer affair than it had been before. He still ate away from them, but he was watching as the whole group seemed to pull together. Death must have a funny way of bringing people closer he mused to himself.

He was no stranger to death, or losing everything, even before the world had ended. His mother had blown herself up and burned down their house in the process when he was a child. His dad had been on a weeklong bender with any waitress he could push over a table. He'd been about five, Merle was about thirteen, and all of a sudden he'd awoken to the smell of smoke. He didn't think much of it at first, because the house always smelled like smoke. He couldn't remember his mother without a cigarette in her hand. But then it grew more intense, and the heat started melting the paint on the walls. He'd looked at his bedroom door and seen flickering fire in the gap underneath. He'd remembered being afraid and cringing against the back wall of his room, hoping like hell the fire wouldn't make it through. But the door was made of cheap, highly combustible wood and before long it was up in flames. He'd been choking on the smoke, not knowing what to do or where to go because there were no windows in his room. His eyes burned and his skin was stinging with the intense heat. He couldn't remember if he'd cried or not, but he did remember splinters of the door cracking and finally giving way, but it wasn't because of the fire.

"Daryl! Come on you dummy, we gotta go!"

It had been his brother. Wrapped in a water-doused blanket he'd leapt over the flames that were beginning to eat through the floor, groping through the thick black smoke and grabbed his baby brother by the nape of the neck.

"Come on! Pick your fucking feet up, we gotta get out of here!"

"Where's Mom?" he cried, not wanting to leave his mother behind in the engulfing flames and acrid, bad tasting smoke.

"No time for that. She can get out on her own. Dad left me in charge of you, I gotta get you out, now shut your mouth and move!"

He shoved Daryl in the back and forced him to stumble down the hall. The fire was roaring like a monster just behind him and the smoke made it impossible for him to see but an inch or two in front of his face. His chest was heaving as he struggled to breathe and tried not to wretch because of the horrible taste in his mouth and throat. Ash and dust and burning pain.

Merle had finally managed to thrust him out the front door. He dragged him away from the house, cutting up his feet and legs on the rough gravel dirt track that led to their home. When he was finally a safe distance away from the house which was still burning Daryl had finally managed to get his eyes open and gasp a few desperate breaths.

"Get that through your head, baby brother." Merle had said to him as he forced him to stand on his feet again, facing the remains of what had been his home that was now engulfed by fire, smoke and ash. "Ain't nobody going to care about you except for me. Nobody else woulda saved your sorry ass from getting burned to death. You remember that."

The memory was still vivid, even after all this time. A neighbor had seen the smoke and called the fire department, and hours later they had pulled the charred remains of his mother out of the house. There wasn't anything left but ashen bones. He remembered being numb at first, like he didn't know what to feel. He'd been so angry that it had been her cigarette in bed that had burned the house down, but he was still sad that she was dead and that everything he'd ever owned was gone. In the end he hadn't cried. Merle wouldn't stand for it. He reminded him forcefully that there wasn't any point crying like a baby for a bitch who had almost killed him. It had stuck with him all this time.

He watched the other members of camp lean in close to each other. Carol stayed very close to Sophia who was sitting with Carl and Lori. He didn't understand how the death of one abusive asshole could pull this sad pack of humanity together. Maybe it wasn't his right to understand. He'd never been in a place where he was afraid for his life at the hands of someone else. No matter what Merle had ever done to him, he'd known he was never going to kill him. He'd been teaching him how to fight and how to survive, not how to lose his spine and bend to the will of others. Sometimes he felt stings to his pride whenever he did what Rick told him to do. It wasn't that Rick wasn't almost always right about the orders he gave- it was just that someone else told him to do it, and he hated being told what to do.

Eventually the group broke up for the night and now that they had the prisoner in camp, there was somewhat less anxiety. Of course most of them hadn't seen the pack of Walkers that were in the woods. Daryl was fairly confident that Rick, Glenn, and Ed had killed them all while he and Shane were running the girl down, but if there was one pack, there was usually more.

Always more.

It was as the group was breaking up that Rick caught his eye. A silent invitation to come over because they had to discuss something important. Andrea noticed the look too and softly pacified her sister before rooting herself right where she'd been before. Rick was clearly not thrilled, but Lori stayed as well. Along with T-dog, Glenn, Shane, Dale, Jim, and Morales.

"We have to decide where we go from here." Rick started quietly. "With as many Walkers as we saw in the woods, we need to seriously consider moving somewhere else."

"Where? There's nowhere else to go." Glenn piped up.

"There's plenty of places we can go. We just have to have the means to get there. And having something like supplies waiting for us wouldn't be a bad thing either." Dale spoke, fiddling a little with his watch as he did so.

"Speaking of that, how are we doing on gasoline?" Rick asked.

"The RV can go maybe twenty five miles. Some of the other vehicles could go about seventy five. We're low. When you guys didn't come back with gasoline from Atlanta…" Shane rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Well sorry if we were being chased by hungry freaks. Next time you risk your skinny neck." Daryl snapped. "Maybe your friend shouldn't have cuffed my brother to a freaking roof! We wouldn't of had to reshuffle the entire plan going back for him and giving our supplies away in the process."

"Hey. We're past that now." Rick said, authority coating every syllable.

"We ain't past shit. Not till we find Merle." He liked Rick and he held a certain amount of respect for him, but that didn't mean all was forgiven when it came to what had happened to his brother.

"Merle's dead, Daryl." Andrea said sharply. "Do you really think he made it out of the city alive, with only one hand?" She looked at him across the fire. "Do you really think its possible?"

"He stole our freaking van with the supplies inside! He's alive." Daryl growled. "I don't know where the hell he would have gone, but he's alive. With one fucking hand." He snapped a stick between his fists and threw it into the fire.

"Be that as it may." Rick continued. "We have to consider our options. Where can we go with the supplies we got, or where can we resupply to go further?"

"We're running out of food. We could stay and smoke the meat we got to preserve it, but that'll take days. I don't know if we'll last that long." Shane said heavily.

"I was thinking about going into the woods to try and track a deer. We can live off of that while the rest of the meat gets smoked." Daryl said, ignoring the suspicious looks the rest of the group was giving him.

"We need to decide where to go first before we jump the gun on anything else. Now what's nearby?" Rick asked, looking at Dale and Glenn for answers.

"Nothing. Its just woods. Down the mountain there's one small town but we've already picked that clean of food and water and gasoline. Most of it was already gone when we got there actually. After that it's just Atlanta." Dale said rubbing a hand over his bald head worriedly.

"Atlanta's a no go as far as trying to live in. It's overrun. It belongs to the dead now." Rick said softly. Daryl could see he was thinking about something beyond the topic at hand. They all were really. The world belonged to the dead.

"The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead. And the dead keep it." Glenn whispered.

"Huh?" T-dog asked.

"Tolkien?" the Asian questioned, obviously hoping at least someone would understand his reference. "Lord of the Rings? Really?"

Rick cracked a small smile as did Dale. It actually earned a laugh out of Glenn for a moment until the gravity of their situation presented itself with a shower of sparks as another log began to burn down to coals.

"The only place we're sure to find gasoline and supplies is Atlanta. But even if we make it out of the city alive, where can we go from there?" Andrea commented.

"Fort Bennet?" Shane suggested. Rick tilted his head at his friend and he continued.

"It's well supplied with food, water, and weapons. If there's any safety anywhere near here, it's there."

"Fort Bennet is a hundred miles away from Atlanta. And we have no idea if the roads are even passable." Lori said shaking her head staring straight into the fire.

"What about the CDC?" Rick asked, looking up at the group. "If anybody's on the front line of this thing, it's got to be them, at least as far as the plague part is concerned. The government would protect them at all costs, wouldn't they?"

"There is no government you dumbass." Daryl growled quietly. "The only government left is what we make for ourselves and I ain't in a big hurry to start setting up a bunch of fat cat millionaires who don't know what for to make decisions for us."

"We don't know that the government is really gone. They could be hunkered down, riding out the storm, waiting till its safe." Rick pressed. "And if they're trying to find a cure, it'd be at the CDC."

"The CDC is deep in Atlanta." T-dog said with an uncomfortable roll of his shoulder. "Even if we make it there, we'll be overrun before we can get back out. It's not a permanent solution."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's right." Daryl said, refusing to look at the black man. "Nobody's got a cure for what's happened out there. There's no point in us going that way. We need to find some place permanent."

"To do what? To be uprooted when those freaks start marching across our front lawns again?" Andrea said bitterly.

"Someplace isolated. Someplace we can defend. That we can take and hold." He actually found himself looking at Shane, knowing that the man would see it his way. "It doesn't matter where we go. We'll have to fight for it. We might as well fight for something that's gonna last." Shane's dark eyes burned in the low firelight and Daryl could see the cogs spinning in his head. He liked the taste of battle, the ability to spill blood without having to think about consequences. And as much as everybody else might not like it, people like Shane would be needed in that fight.

"There is nowhere like that anymore." Andrea said acidly before getting up and stalking away back to the RV.

"You gonna agree with her, Dale?" Shane asked, watching as the old man looked over his shoulder, watching Andrea disappear.

The old man sighed heavily. "She doesn't want to get her hopes up. Or Amy's." He paused for a moment before looking them all in the face. "But the thing is that finding a place, any place, that we could potentially hold onto for years, even the rest of our lives…the odds are pretty slim. Those things out there, they don't need to eat. They don't need to sleep. They don't feel pain. This is a war of attrition. And I'm sorry, but things like that…" he paused again. "They will eventually overwhelm us." His eyes were both stressed and sad, even in the dying firelight.

"That's not true." Rick murmured quietly. "We don't know for sure that they don't need to eat. That they don't eat to sleep. True they don't feel pain and cannot be killed unless you take out the brain, but maybe someone, somewhere, knows more about these things. Knows a way to stop them all mass." The group looked at him like he'd grown another head and he hurriedly continued, stuttering a little as he got ahead of himself. "I mean what's their only goal but to kill and eat, right? If they didn't need food to survive, why would they kill everything in sight."

"And they don't eat meat that's been dead for a long time. Not unless they have to." T-dog added.

"You see. So maybe at the CDC someone knows something. There's gotta be at least some information there, records, reports, something. Even if there's nobody alive. I say it's our best chance."

"And if there isn't, Rick?" To the rest of the group, Shane sounded desperate. But to Daryl, he sounded desperate in the sense he was about to not get his way. And that could be dangerous when it came to the ex-cop. "If there's nothing there and we go back into that God forsaken city and we're trapped there? Are you willing to risk Lori? Carl? The rest of our lives? All for a maybe? A maybe that might not even do much good for us, think about it!"

"Well…at this rate…we have to go back into Atlanta anyway." Glenn said quietly. He looked nauseas as he said it, and Daryl didn't blame him. Atlanta was indeed a city only for the dead now, and the dead weren't pretty.

"For supplies." He continued. "While we're there, we could at least look at the CDC and see if there's anything useful. Who knows, maybe there are people still alive, working on this thing."

"I got a really bad feeling about this." Lori whispered quietly. She leaned against Rick and Daryl didn't miss the look off aggravation Shane wore on his face. "But I don't think we have much choice."

"Alright. Its settled then. Daryl, you go off in the morning to hunt. Bring back whatever you can, but don't spend more than a day, not unless you got a deer or some other big game worth waiting for." Rick's voice had shaped into that cop, business like tone. The one that got things done. Rick was good at using that voice. Shane just sounded like an authoritarian asshole.

"The rest of us will work in camp to start packing things up." He was about to kick the fire to put it out when Daryl spoke.

"What about the prisoner? We leave her or we take her with us?"

Rick ran his hand through his hair. "If we leave her, what are the odds she'll follow us?" He looked at Daryl for some reason, but since the eyes were on him, he answered.

He shrugged. "I'd say pretty good. She's said she's been stealing from us for weeks. She's not quite a babe in the woods, but she ain't nothing like Merle or me. She wouldn't survive out there, not without someone else to scavenge off of. Not with the Walkers coming closer." He told himself he didn't care one way or the other what happened to her. He didn't know her, and so far all she'd done was aggravate the shit out of him. But he had a feeling that if they left her to die here…she would haunt him.

Haunt him the same way the chupacabra did.

"I say we cut her loose and shoot her if she tries coming around again. Isn't that what you'd do if someone unknown was skulking on your property about to take your shit?" Shane asked, looking around the rest of the group for confirmation.

"I don't feel right about leaving someone in the woods like that. Especially with those things out there. We can keep her on a short leash. Hell, maybe she'll be useful. Maybe she can pull her own weight if we give her a chance." Dale's dark eyes were wide with concern now.

"Always the humanitarian." Shane growled. "Have you forgotten that we lost someone today chasing her away? You willing to lose more?"

"Don't tell me you're not happy about Ed's death. We all hated him but you could have at least had the decency to shoot him yourself in the woods instead of making Carol put an ax through his skull!" Dale bristled.

"Shane didn't make Carol do anything she didn't want to do." Rick said quietly. "But I'm with Shane on this one. We at least gotta prove to her that we're not putting up with her bullshit anymore. Good couple smacks, she'll high tail it out of here."

"She's not an animal!" Dale argued, disbelief and surprise thick in his voice. "Besides, how does that make you any better than Ed?" He turned and faced the rest of the group. "We all knew what Ed did to Carol. We all saw the bruises. We were all cowards for not saying something. For not doing something. Torturing that girl to drive her away isn't any different than what he was guilty of."

"Do you not remember that she tried to kill me?" Daryl snarled, anger flushing through his veins. He'd been patient up until this point, and he was inclined to believe that the girl wasn't as dangerous as his wounds would have others believe, but he didn't want some unknown tag-a-long picking through their things every other night. It wasn't right.

"We have a right to protect what's ours. Our family, our children, and our property." Shane said, speaking low and firmly. "And letting her go puts all of those in jeopardy."

"Then we won't." Rick said with a firm nod of his head. "We'll keep her with us. Tied up and as a prisoner, until we can determine whether she's any use to us or not. If she is, well, maybe we'll cut her loose so she can be of use. If she tries to betray us, we'll handle it. In the meantime, Glenn, you stay and keep an eye on her, just like you did today. You gotta get through to her at some point. She's only human."

"I will in the morning, but man, I gotta get some sleep." He really did look deprived, the shadows under his eyes were deep and he looked ready to nod off right then.

Rick nodded. "Alright. Everybody else, off to bed. We got work to do in the morning."

Daryl got up from the group without another word. He didn't have much better to do but try to get some sleep before he had to wake up before dawn to hunt for a deer, but instead of going towards his tent he walked to where the prisoner was still hanging. She was awake and as soon as she saw the flicker of his approach out of the corner of her eye, she picked her head up.

"Come to kill me? You look like the executioner type." She rasped, licking her dry, cracking lips. Her voice was huskier now that she hadn't had anything to drink for a good long time but her eyes were still bright.

He shook his head. "Nah. Gonna keep you around for a while, on a short leash. Maybe if you're a good girl we'll let you loose." He enjoyed teasing and taunting her. She'd driven him crazy the past few days, it was no more than she deserved.

"Are you really going to leave me hanging like this all night? I can't feel my fingers." There was no pain in her voice or in her face, but there was truth. She tilted her head back just slightly to look up at her wrists. He followed her gaze and saw blood was sliding down her wrists.

He came closer but he wasn't sure why. It was some kind of magnetic draw, a need to see and understand this person that had eluded him for so long. It was very, very rare that prey ever got away from him. Or showed him up. It unsettled him, as though he were drunk and gravity wasn't such a sure thing anymore. She put him off balance and he hated that. He hated she had done that to him and it almost made him hate her too. He could hear his brother mocking him in his head, how he could let a pretty face screw him like a bitch. Anger burned through his veins as he got into her face.

"It's the least you deserve after everything you put us through."

She barked a rasping laugh at him. "You didn't even know I was here until three days ago."

He tilted his head at her. "Why'd you get sloppy? If you'd been stealing from us for so long, why'd you risk coming right into camp?"

She bared her teeth at him a little, but there was a mischievous light in her eyes. The one that said she was just about to try something, and before he could react, she lunged, wrapping her legs around his waist and squeezing as tightly as possible, pulling him flush against her while she hissed.

"What the hell are you doing, lemme go!" He squirmed in her grip, trying to use his hands to force her legs away but she squeezed him again, causing pain to slam through the still tender wound to his flank and his lungs to not be able to expand, choking off his breath.

"Just…stay." She panted for a minute, and he realized that he was taking the weight off her wrists by holding her up.

"The hell is wrong with you girl, get off me!" he cursed. He made to grab her neck with his bare hand but she squeezed his sides again and rolled her hips into his, smirking wickedly as she did so.

"Aw, don't tell me you don't like it." She said, batting her surprisingly long lashes, the green of her irises tinged with silver from the moonlight. "I'd give you anything you wanted, if you'd just let me go."

Now he looked her in the eye and he couldn't help it when his eyebrow cocked up. "What?"

She actually laughed at him and rolled her hips against his again. "Come on." She crooned. She leaned her face close to his, close enough to feel the warmth of her breath against his cheek. "Don't tell me you haven't been lonely since the world went to hell. No warm body next to you at night. No skin to smell in your sheets the next morning." She squeezed him with strong thighs and deliberately pressed her crotch right against his, grinding down on him just a little. He would have been willing to damn himself to hell for the way his body betrayed him. His skin flushed with heat that was different than the oppressive daytime temperatures; every nerve ending seemed to come to life, tingling with the promise of pleasure and satisfaction. It was so much that his flesh literally began to ache. She smelled so good so close to him and the animal part of him whispered to take her up on her offer. It wasn't every day females were throwing themselves at him, and the odds of finding another this attractive (even with her strange hair) were slim to none.

But then reality came back. Her green eyes were gleaming like a fox. There was something almost inhuman about her, something he couldn't put his finger on but something that disturbed him greatly. Some instinct deep inside warned him that she was dangerous in the way that dark shadows in the woods at night are treacherous and he should turn and walk away before they followed him home and ripped him to pieces in his bed. He was a pretty big proponent of listening to those instincts. It had saved him more than once.

"Get the fuck off me!" he ordered, finally coming to his full senses, using his hand to twist her leg up towards her back, forcing her to let go. When he was clear and out of her reach she laughed in his face and this time he couldn't walk away without answering it.

"You're a fucking piece of work. You best quit that braying or I'll make sure that you stay hung up in this tree as Walker bait!"

"You think you're a man? Hit me like one if you think I deserve it!" she snarled.

"You're talkative for a fox." He sneered at her before turning around and walking away, leaving her to thrash with fury from where she hung.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Welcome back my wonderful readers and reviewers! I had some free time on my hands and I thought I would go ahead and give this to you guys, just because you have been so awesome to me, and I'd love to pay back the favor in anyway I can. Enjoy!_**

**jalenreedmu**: _OMG she's so badass :) update soon_

Ain't that the truth? Hope I can keep that up.

**CreepyDaisy**:_ I love the LOTR quote! Are you going to write a little of her backstory? It seems she has an interesting past, and I love her interaction with Daryl. Please update soon again! BTW, great chapter!_

On one of the episodes Rick was trying to reach Morgan and he said "Atlanta isn't what we thought. It belongs to the dead." And it made me think of the LOTR quote so I decided to throw that in. And of course I will write our intruder's backstory, I have most of it written in my head, but this is a hopefully realistically, slowly developing relationship that she's building with not just Daryl but the rest of the group too. And she's not one to give up her secrets easy ;)

**FanFicGirl10**: _"I personally think a few good lashings with a belt wouldn't hurt" Harsh Daryl just harsh! I love it, and I love how she totally manhandled Daryl ;) I wonder if she's like a vampire or some type of inhuman creature, and I'm totally serious by the way :) Update Soon!_

Daryl can be pretty harsh when he wants to be, and I actually debated a long time on whether to keep that in or cut it, but I went back and watched more of the episodes (at least of Season 1 and 2) and I think he would have said it. He might be getting a little softer in Season 3 (haven't seen it yet) but we'll see what happens, shall we? And yes, she's good at manhandling, in more ways than one ;) And you'll just have to wait and see, hm?

**arrelmai**: _great, great, GREAT! You really get the essence of each character. Looking forward to more_

I'm doing what I can. I watch the Walking Dead (thank god for Netflix) almost every day, just as refreshers for reactions/judgement calls, and all sorts of things. I wonder what it's like to actually be in TWD's writing room and getting to make the calls for the characters. Must be awesome. Anyway, thanks for writing in!

**Neri**: _This story just keeps getting better and better. I really hope you update soon :D I want to find out what they do with her. Keep being awesome- Neri_

Yay, another new reviewer! I'm so glad you like the story, and I'm glad that it isn't slowing down for you. I will do the best I can to keep the quality as high as possible. It's a lot of time, but it is very worth it =)

**Emberka-2012**: _She dangerous and resourceful enemy. And she would do anything to break free. With her would be better to make friends._

She's definitely dangerous and resourceful. And she's willing to do quite a lot to get her way, but what that is is still a mystery ;)

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Such interesting interaction between Daryl and your character! One thing I so have to say is that I hate not having a name to call her by! But I get why she hasn't given it up! She is such an interesting character! I want to know more! Can't wait for the next chapter!_

Well don't worry, you'll have your wish for something to call her by in this chapter =) And yes, all the interactions between her and Daryl are sure to be interesting to say the least. When I think of her, I think of a hurricane, and when I think of Daryl, I think of something lashed down. He's pliable, and the bindings can be undone, but is she strong enough to pull them loose? We'll see…;)

**Emerald Gaze**: _What!? Crap, I was really just ready to find out what happened next and then i saw there was no next chapter! I actually saw this story yesterday but had to hold off on it cuz I'm reading too many darylxoc stories at the moment but the summary was just to good to pass up and the story has been so interesting that I've put off studying for finals to read it. Seriously though her propositioning him for sex in exchange for her freedom was a nice touch and pretty funny too!_

Hi! Thanks for dropping into leave me a review! I love hearing from new people =D I'm very flattered that I was able to hold your attention over studying for finals, and I have to admit, I'm actually putting off studying for finals just to write this =) I'm glad that the summary caught your attention, cause I wasn't quite satisfied with it, but I didn't want to give too much away. And yes, she knows all her resources, and she ain't afraid to use anything she's got to get what she wants. Daryl's not quite a gentleman, but we'll see what happens hm? ;)

**X23 Maximoff**: _Marvelous! You seriously surprise me more and more with every chapter. I can't even begin to guess what's going to happen next, and I love it! Please update soon! -XM_

I'm glad I keep things shaken up and unpredictable! I hope I continue to do so. I'm almost making this up as I go along- I started with a written out and finished plot, but as I've written and received such lovely reviews things have been spiraling into so many new directions. I can't wait to bring it all to you guys!

**lilnightmare17**:_ Just keeps getting better and better I can't wait to read more to see what's up with that mystery chick. is she crazy, is she special ops, or is she a secret spy, I don't know but I want to find out._

Wow! I can't believe that she's generating so much interest and speculation. I mean I was really hoping she would, but this was a fantastic review for my Muse =D I'll surely do my best to keep getting responses like this!

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It was three or four in the morning when he woke, and he was glad for it too. His dreams had been filled with a fox that kept changing bodies between the regular animal, and the chupacabra. Sometimes it had chased him and sometimes he had chased it. He wasn't always the hunter, and that bothered him in a very deep, unsettling away. He was grateful to have his crossbow over his shoulder to reassure him of his own capabilities. Before he headed for the trees he also grabbed a length of rope from the RV so when he caught his deer, he'd have something to drag it back with.

Rick was waiting for him at the edge of the tree line. He'd hoped to make a clean getaway and not have to deal with the cop this morning but it didn't look like he'd have any such luck. There was no luck, not in this world, and he should have known that.

"Daryl. I need to talk to you."

"What?" He wasn't in the mood to be polite, but he did step closer.

"Shane said he saw you and the prisoner talking last night." He started. He had that look in his eye- that disapproving stare, as if he was his father and had a right to tell him what to do on his own time. Daryl bristled.

"So? Talking against the law now?" he asked. It wasn't just about that though. It could never be that simple. But he couldn't stop the flush of heat that hit him in the back of the neck. He didn't have to wait long to find out what else Shane had seen.

"He said he saw her grab you." Rick pressed.

His voice hardened. "How many times I have to tell you? I don't need a babysitter watching over my shoulder. So she grabbed me. I made her let go."

"That's the point. You got close enough that maybe she could have hurt you." Rick continued, his voice getting tense as well. "We can't afford anybody getting hurt. Not if we have to make a dash for it out of camp at the last second. So stay out of reach from her from now on, alright?"

Daryl tilted his head at the cop. "You think I can't handle myself against one strung up girl? Jesus Christ, Rick, how many Walkers have I killed on my own without a gun? How many have you killed without a bullet to help you out?" His jaw tightened in irritation. "I can handle Fox." He said it without meaning to but it had just slipped from between his teeth.

"That her name?" Rick asked softly.

Daryl shrugged. "How the hell should I know? She just reminds me of one." He stalked away into the trees and was thankful when Rick did not follow him. He made a mental note to have a talk with Shane about spying on what he ought not to be spying on. A man had a right to privacy.

He focused himself back on the task at hand. If he was going to catch a deer, he had to be calm and collected. It was almost like the animals could sense unrest, and they wouldn't show themselves if they could feel that intense, negative energy. Merle had always said that was pot smoking hippy talk, and Daryl would tell him to screw off whenever he brought back venison for dinner.

He moved swiftly down to where the creek widened and became deeper, heading further into the woods knowing that if he was going to find a deer, he was going to have to stick close to the water and try to find a feeding ground. It wasn't like he had the opportunity to sit up in a deer stand and wait for them to wander by.

He followed the creek for what had to be at least three miles, moving further and further down the mountain, past where he had tracked the girl's trail through the water the other day. She'd said she was camped about five miles east of the quarry, maybe he could find her camp and find out if she really was alone. She'd sounded truthful, but you could never tell with a fox.

The creek eventually widened and the gully it was running through became flatter and his hunter instincts were pricked. There were meadows and fields on both sides with just a few trees providing shade over the running water. This was as good a place as any. He found a suitable tree and climbed up into the branches. He settled down to wait, knowing that dawn was approaching quickly. Already the sky was tinged with pink and gold and off to the west the stars were beginning to become faint. The deer would be coming out of their hollows soon for a morning feed.

Sure enough, right as the air began to grow warmer with the strong rays of the morning sun, the first flicker of the foliage at the edge of the meadow alerted him to the presence of his quarry. He was almost thankful for the lack of running water at camp. It kept him from smelling like a human and so even though there wasn't much camouflage the deer wouldn't be alerted to his presence, as long as he kept still.

The first one that came out of the trees was a good size doe and her fawn but they were both too far away to get a clean shot. He was a patient hunter though. He would wait for the opportune moment to strike at the best possible kill. He was hoping that the deer would make their way across the meadow to drink from the stream and then he'd have a shot for a clean kill. Merle didn't mind shooting first and following a blood trail before finishing the dying animal off with another shot to the head. Given the choice Daryl would rather kill quickly.

As time passed more deer came out from the trees to feed on the meadow grasses. Most were still a little far for his liking but he was starting to run out of options. Before too much longer the deer would disappear into the woods and he'd have to track them down. There was another doe slowly making her way near his tree and there were no fawns lingering at her side. The hunter in him approved and he very slowly began to ease his bow into position, moving only when her head was down amongst the grass.

A cracking stick caused his target to jerk her head free of the grasses, swiveling her ears back and forth rapidly. The other deer had reacted as well and when another piece of brush crackled they began to sprint like hell for the trees.

"Shit." Daryl cursed. He lined the bow up and pulled the trigger. It wasn't a clean shot, but it would slow his doe down. The arrow landed in her shoulder, causing her to whine with pain and stumble. He was reloading the bow with another arrow to take another shot when he caught the scent of death. Immediately he jerked up and saw the source of the sound that had made the deer scatter.

A Walker was now traipsing through the meadow, coming towards his injured doe. Even though she was on her feet and moving, the Walker was after her as well, and the choice to Daryl was obvious. Before the living dead freak could lay its teeth into his prize, he lined up the sights on his bow and fired again.

"My deer." He said as the Walker dropped straight to the ground.

He climbed out of the tree and watched as his doe limped off towards the woods. He'd follow her in just a second, he had to take care of something else first. The Walker he'd put down wasn't dead yet, the head was too small a target to hit at this distance, but he had been able to take out their leg. When he showed up the freak was dragging itself on the ground with its decrepit hands, jaws gnashing wildly as it caught sight of him and smelled living human scent.

"Sayonara bitch." He snarled as he unsheathed his knife and plunged it into their skull. Black blood spattered the grass and his blade as he pulled his knife free. He double-timed it back to the creek to wash his knife and arrow (it would save him time from having scrape and pick the dried blood off later) before shouldering his bow and heading into the trees.

A bleeding animal wasn't hard to follow. Smatterings and droplets of blood were flecked everywhere along her trail and soon enough he found her half collapsed in a thicket at the edge of the now steep embankment that led down into the creek. She was groaning in pain as he approached but despite her injury she still struggled weakly, kicking her spindly legs.

"Easy now," he murmured softly. He maneuvered himself over her struggling body, catching her muzzle in his fist to hold her head firmly. He wasn't a man of faith or prayer or the kind to believe in God, but he was thankful that there were still deer out there and that he found one, and he remembered that as he slit her throat to end her pain.

Once the blood was drained which took less time than he remembered he used the rope he'd taken this morning and strung the deer's feet together before starting the long trek back to camp, hauling the carcass behind him. It was backbreaking work, especially since much of the climb was up hill and more than once he was cursing his prey that they'd gone in the opposite direction of camp once they'd run, but there was nothing to be done about it. Once he was about halfway he stopped for a breather, sitting down on a log underneath the boughs of one of the trees, using his shirt to wipe away the sweat that was pouring down his face. Even in the shade, it had to be at least ninety five degrees, maybe more, but it wasn't just the heat, it was the humidity. The hot wet blanket of moisture that prevented any air movement and weighed down on him like a second skin. It was times like this when he was exhausted and didn't know how he was going to drag himself, let alone a hundred plus pound deer, up the hill and into camp, that he could hear his brother's voice inside his head, telling him to quit his bitching and moaning and to stop being such a pussy and get the hell back to camp.

"Course if you were here you could help me you selfish son of a bitch." He growled as he stood back up and grabbed the rope that trussed his deer.

"Ran out on me first chance you fucking got." He continued, kicking aside debris as he huffed and gasped for breath as the hill began to get steeper and the ground less firm beneath his feet.

He could feel the slow burn of anger working through him like a wound festering beneath a badly placed bandage. There was a part of him still screaming that it was Rick's fault his brother was gone, missing a hand, maybe lying in the street dead somewhere, or worse, shambling around with hungry jaws and filmy, sightless eyes, just waiting to rip the throat out of the first living thing he could find. But right next to that part of him, there was something else, a nagging splinter that was telling him it wasn't Rick's fault. Merle had always been reckless, selfish, and uncaring, that he'd be willing to lose a hand if it meant he could get his way and hurt someone else in the process. He hated himself for thinking that way, but more and more as the days went by, he thought it was true.

"You trying to punish me, big brother?" he panted as he took another painful step, hauling the rope that held the deer up over his shoulder. "For what? I never did nothing to you. Well…" he coughed hard, almost to the point of retching from the stress of the physical labor and the sun beating down on him "Fuck you."

After that it was a blind intense burn of anger and determination that got him up the hill with the deer behind him. When he finally hauled it back into camp he was met with a smile from several members, including Rick and even Carol who dared to approach him after he finally dropped the rope.

"Thank you." The soft spoken woman murmured. "I know it must have been hard to bring that deer all the way back here."

She presented him a canteen and when he took it from her, he realized the water was cold. That was rare. He took a long drink and splashed a little on the back of his neck, shuddering relief spilling over him.

"It was nothing." He managed to say. He felt odd saying it although he wasn't sure why. Carol gave him another soft smile before retreating when Sophia called for her.

"Where'd you find it?" Rick asked as Dale, T-dog, and Jim came to help carry the deer to start butchering it for food.

"East of here in a meadow. Just followed the creek for a while. Same direction Fox said her camp was in."

Rick nodded at him before glancing over his shoulder where said prisoner was tied up. Glenn was sitting in the shade next to her but well out of reach. They appeared to be carrying on some kind of conversation but it involved a lot of nervous fidgeting from Glenn.

"She's as stubborn as ever." Rick muttered with a tired sigh.

Daryl raised his eyebrows a little. "Maybe a little cold water will help." He said before he picked up the canteen Carol had given him and approached the tree.

"Come on, you know half my life story, you could at least give me your name." Glenn was saying as he got closer.

"You're persistent, I give you that, but I told you, you won't get my name." she said. When she saw Daryl out of the corner of her eye the green in her irises seemed to grow brighter. Her expression softened briefly, but then became calculating.

"Well, well if it isn't my scorning would be lover." She said swinging from the branch that she hung from causing more blood to run down her wrists. It was beginning to coat her arms now and he would have felt sorry for her, except for the look that found its way to Glenn's face after her comment. It was a cross between disbelief and contempt, with a hint of disgust.

"Am I missing something here?" Glenn asked, shooting that look between the two of them. "Shane was saying he saw something last night…"

"Shane says a lot of things, you get the hell out of here, I can handle this." Daryl growled, shooting a threatening look at the Asian boy. Glenn didn't need telling twice before skittering off with a last look at the prisoner.

"Aw, what'd you do that for? I like him. Give it another hour I probably could of got him to cut me down." Her tone was teasing, almost playful for some reason.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "And you're not even offering to suck him off? Seems like you were about to jip him." He was trying to rattle her knowing that Glenn would have been a gentleman. Or at least not so blunt. Hopefully if he could put her off balance she might crack a little.

She actually laughed a little but he could tell this time it wasn't at his expense. "Please don't think everything I say is written in blood. It's not."

"Oh so you're recanting last night's offer?"

She tilted her head at him, her eyes getting serious. "No." she panted as the rope twisted against her wrists again causing another rivulet of blood to roll down her pale skin.

Seeing her hanging there, blood running down her arms, and the first look of desperation cross her face, he felt a twinge of guilt. Did she really deserve to be strung up like this in the face of the sun the whole damn day? Was she really that dangerous?

"I got something for you." He said quietly, unscrewing the cap to the canteen. Her eyes flamed with interest and her tongue flicked her dry lips.

He held the canteen to her lips and let her drink a little, unconsciously fascinated by the way the water droplets she missed rolled down her jaw and throat. He took it away before she'd drunk her fill and she actually whined a little reaching for it as much as she could with her teeth before the pressure on her neck and wrists became too much.

"There's more where that came from if you start acting like you're not crazy." He said, setting the canteen near his foot. She fixed him with a very steely stare but it wasn't quite angry.

"What do you want?" she asked, a razor sharp edge to her words. She wasn't playing anymore, that was for certain.

"Your name to start with." He said.

"No."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Fine then." He said. He left the canteen where it was, right in front of her feet, and walked away. She yowled with fury and kicked out wildly, knocking the canteen over as she furiously pulled on her bonds.

"What's going on?" Rick asked upon hearing the frustrated screams from the prisoner as Daryl came back over to help with the butchering of the deer.

"I just won her pissing contest is all." Daryl muttered with a shrug. He unsheathed his knife and set to work on the deer without another word.

"Sounds like you really ticked her off." Shane commented glancing over towards the girl. Out of the corner of his eye Daryl could see her thrashing and screeching, making an awful racket. Shane headed that way and although he wasn't sure why, the idea of Shane interrogating her made him uncomfortable.

Dinner was practically a feast that night, a feast of well cooked venison. It was the first time in a long time his stomach was actually full and he wasn't wanting for more food. Even before the world ended, hunger was something he was familiar with it, even as an adult, although certainly it had been worse as a kid. Darkness had long since fallen over the camp and everyone was quieting down. The women were cleaning their dishes while the men helped to wrap up the leftover meat and put it in RV's fridge, using the remaining space and the RV's generator to keep it cold.

Daryl was on his way to his tent to finally get a decent night's sleep when a cry of pain shattered the stillness. He turned and saw people flocking to where the women were washing dishes. Lori was on her feet clutching her hand and wrist.

"Lori! Lori, what happened?" Rick asked almost panicked already even as his wife got up from where she'd been sitting. She had one hand clutched in the other, but even in the shadowy light, Daryl could see blood leaking from between her fingers.

"I cut myself on the knife you were using to butcher the deer. I was trying to wash it and I lost my grip!" she panted, obviously in pain.

"What the hell happened?" Shane demanded as he jogged up from where he'd been gathering more firewood for the night.

"I cut myself, it's nothing." Lori said and though her face was relatively calm, her voice was shallow. Rick was already hurrying into his tent for the first aid kit while Shane tried to pry her hand open so he could see the wound. Daryl gave them space. Whatever was going on in the Rick, Lori, and Shane triangle, he didn't want any part of it.

They stemmed the blood flow in Lori's wound and then wrapped it up tightly with their remaining bandages. Their supplies were whittling down to almost zero, and thanks to Merle, the ones they had tried to take from Atlanta back to camp were gone. He suspected Merle had taken them to help himself survive, but for the life of him, Daryl couldn't figure out where else he would go or why he wouldn't at least come back for him. Again the thought crossed his mind that maybe Merle was punishing him, but for what he couldn't fathom. Just before everybody broke for bed Rick called the whole camp together.

"Alright, here's the plan. We're gonna work on collecting and preserving as much food as we can because we're going to be leaving soon." There was an uncomfortable murmur throughout the group and the parents who'd made it out with their children now pulled their little ones close.

"Why?" Amy demanded.

"There's not much food here anymore. And we know Walkers are in the woods. Its only a matter of time before they find the camp. We can't be around when that happens. So the plan is once everything here is ready, we're headed back down the hill to Atlanta."

"We can't go back there!" Jacqui cried, panic thick in her voice. "All of us almost died escaping there! You said it yourself, the city is dead!"

Other oppositional cries began to circulate through the camp. Rick looked flustered and Shane looked annoyed. He stepped forward beside his friend.

"No matter what direction we take, we have to go into Atlanta. We're almost out of gasoline. It's the only place anywhere near here that has the fuel we need. While we're there, Rick's proposing that we investigate the CDC to see if they're still up and running. If they are, maybe they know something about this…plague." He finished.

The crowd fell silent, chewing over what they now knew. Daryl could feel the simmering tension.

"What about the prisoner?" Andrea asked. She was standing close to her sister and it didn't surprise Daryl one bit that she would be the one to ask about the captured Fox.

"We take her with us. She'd just follow us if we didn't." Rick answered.

"Why not leave her behind? One less mouth to feed." Andrea pressed. Jacqui nodded in agreement.

"No. We're not leaving people behind, not without a means to even have a chance at survival. The world may have ended and everything else may be a free for all, but we have to at least try to hold on to what makes us human beings." Rick's voice was firm and commanding and not for the first time Daryl had the notion that if anyone was suited to lead the group, it was him.

"Besides, if we cut her loose, she'd just follow us anyway." Lori added. Rick flashed his wife a thankful smile.

"Fine, but I'm not gonna be the one to babysit her." Andrea muttered. She pulled Amy away back towards the RV, and with her departure, many of the other camp members went their separate ways as well, until it was only Daryl and Shane remaining.

"You got something you wanna say?" Shane asked him in that tone that suggested he was just looking for a fight.

"I got plenty I want to say. Quit sicking Rick on me like I'm some bad behaved dog. And quit spying on me!" He growled.

"Then stop letting some pretty face turn you into a piece of meat!" Shane's voice was full of disgust and contempt, and Daryl had never wanted to punch someone's teeth in so badly in his life.

"I was never gonna let that bitch get away! After all the crap I went through to catch her? You really think I'm that stupid?" Daryl asked. It took all his energy to restrain himself from wiping the shit eating look off Shane's face by grinding his face into a rock.

"You just watch yourself." Shane growled, starting to move past him. "That girl causes trouble, you're the one who will be responsible. If it were me, I would have taken care of her in the woods."

Daryl's blood ran cold but he didn't let that stop him. "You'd of killed an unarmed girl in the woods?" he yelled at the man's retreating back. Shane didn't reply, he just kept walking and Daryl turned on his heel, marching to the tree where the prisoner was still hanging. When she heard him coming she picked her head up but her eyes weren't as bright as they had been earlier. Two days without food and little water in the burning sun hanging by their wrists would take the life out of any person.

"Come to tease me some more?" she asked, and though there was venom in her voice, it was thinner.

"Came to warn you." He said quietly.

She looked up and caught his eye. Despite the dip in color they were still hard like jewels.

"Warn me about what?" she asked.

He glanced over his shoulder and around hers to make sure no one was watching before he picked up the canteen that had been knocked over at her feet. Fortunately the lid had been on and so the water was still safe inside although it wasn't as cool as it had been earlier. He approached her slowly and she eyed him with suspicion. As he came closer she kicked at him, almost getting him in the balls but he stepped back in time.

"Hey, hey, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you. Hold still, I'm gonna take the weight off your wrists, ok?" He looked up at her, hoping she would believe him. He'd been calling her a fox all this time, and he understood wild animals needed to be shown kindness before they would let their guard down. She might not have been her physical namesake, but there really wasn't much else that he knew about her to form a judgment on what she would or wouldn't do. He knew he was taking a risk. She could still hurt him, but he didn't think she would.

Her eyes whispered that she didn't trust him but she allowed him to get closer. He carefully positioned himself between her legs, letting one arm slide underneath her to help hold her up until she used the strength in her thighs and gently squeezed him. She sighed in relief when he bore her weight and eased the pressure on her wrists. He glanced up and saw the bloodstains on the rope, as well as the streaks and smears of blood on her arms. He decided that while he had her where he wanted her, he might as well say what he came to say.

"I came to warn you about Shane. He's out for your blood girl. You best be careful, and you best start making yourself useful, or at least cooperate with us. Rick and me, we don't wanna hurt ya. But Shane…Shane might."

Despite the pain she was in and how exhausted she must have been she snickered. "You didn't come here to warn me of that." She panted.

He tilted his head at her, confusion seeping through him just like her body heat. "Hang on for a second." He told her while he unscrewed the cap to the canteen and let her drink again, this time until it was empty. She took a deep breath in and after he set the empty container down, she actually leaned into him, letting her forehead gently touch his shoulder. It was too intimate for his liking, her nose pressed almost into the hollow of his throat. He twitched uncomfortably and tried to pull back without releasing her, but she didn't let him. The close contact on her part was enough to make him squirm, but he stilled when she spoke.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Tell me your name." His voice was soft, softer than he'd ever spoken to her before. For whatever reason, he seemed to be the only one she wanted to deal with seriously and so he decided that for the good of the group, and maybe for her too, that he could at least try to be gentle and see if that would coax her into being civilized. Or at least tame enough so the rest of the group didn't think she was a threat.

She picked her head up from his shoulder and though it was thin and weak and laced with pain, he could hear the tenants of defiance and sarcasm running through her voice, and while that didn't surprise him, what she said did.

"You can call me Fox."

He couldn't help the half smile that twitched with his lips, but it didn't last long before the seriousness took over. "You keep playing games like this, they're never gonna know if they can trust you." He said.

"And you? What about you?" she asked. She shifted against him but it was only to get a better grip on his body, unlike the way she'd pushed against him last night. It was still uncomfortable but not in the same way.

"I don't trust you." He said, and he put as much honesty into every syllable as he could. He meant it. He didn't trust her, not as far as he could throw her. But that didn't mean she deserved to be shot in the woods like an animal for trying to survive. Merle probably would have said otherwise, but Daryl knew what it was like to be out in the dark with nowhere to go back to, and nothing waiting for you at whatever pitiful shelter you could throw together in the woods. He knew that anyone would do almost anything to escape from that.

She laughed again. "I can see that." She said. She leaned her head down into his shoulder again. He still wasn't expecting it and he tried more earnestly this time to get her to pull back. She did so, looking into his eyes when she spoke again.

"You're different from the rest." She said softly.

"No news flash there." There was a quiet rustle from one of the bushes and he tried to pull away from her as quickly as possible incase someone was coming.

"You scared of what they think of you?" she asked him menacingly, all trace of softness gone, even as the rustling, now footsteps, grew louder.

"I ain't scared of nothing!" he growled. He grabbed her by the ankle and twisted her foot up behind her back again to force her to let go. When she bore the full of weight of her body on her wrists once more she winced audibly and for a moment he thought she might cry. But instead she lowered her head and stared him in the face. Her expression was full of anger and contempt and something that might have been hate except there was too much pain blended in.

This time he walked away in silence, but that silence was louder than any self satisfied laugh she'd thrown at him previously. He slipped away to his tent before he could see who or what had been making noise, and he was glad for it to. He didn't want to face anyone's eyes.

He pretended he didn't know why, but as he threw himself down to sleep that night, he knew. He knew and he hated it. She made him weak and he didn't want anybody else to see. But it wasn't just that. It was that he let her suffer because the rest of the group wasn't willing to trust her. He could have stayed there longer, at least most of the night, holding her up. But he didn't. He let her hang.

He didn't sleep easy that night. His dreams were filled with bloody fox pelts and Walker snarls. He shot and killed and ran for his life and when he woke soaked in cold sweat the next morning he was glad that the world of his nightmares wasn't as bad as the waking world. He didn't know if he'd of been able to stand it if it was.

When he came into camp the next morning, everything was alive and busy. People were packing up, organizing their supplies and making them easily available if they were needed. He went and checked on his bike and fired up the engine to make sure the battery was still working. When the machine snarled to life he smiled a little. It was one of the few things about the world before it had gone to hell that he got to keep with him. He could be grateful for that at least. When he shut the bike off he looked through the saddlebag on the side and found his gun. When he'd left his home with Merle heading for the hills there had been bullets in it, but now it was empty. He went to Rick who happened to already have the bag of guns and bullets open.

"Filling up?" he asked as he loaded his revolver.

Daryl nodded. "Thirty eight cal."

Rick dug through his bag and found him a clip. Once his gun was locked and loaded he was about to turn around and head to his bike to put it away when he saw Lori out of the corner of his eye. She was lifting a bucket of water out of the back of the truck that Shane had driven up earlier in the morning but she hadn't made it very far when she staggered.

"Mom!" Carl called worriedly, getting up from where he was playing with Sophia and running towards her. Rick followed immediately as Lori collapsed to the ground, clutching her injured hand.

"Lori, are you alright, talk to me." Rick said picking his wife up off the ground and carrying her towards the RV. Daryl followed at a distance along with Dale as Rick laid her on the bed in the back of the vehicle.

"I'm, I'm fine." She said although her voice was thin and strained. Rick lightly placed his hand against her cheek and forehead.

"Christ you're burning up."

Dale reached around him and carefully unpeeled the bandages from Lori's hand and Daryl's stomach clenched a little at the sight of the wound. The skin around the cut was inflamed and the cut itself had yet to scab over, pus and fluid still leaking out. She was clearly infected rather seriously, and walking in the sun had sapped most of her strength.

"What do we do?" Carl asked worriedly, looking up at his father for the answers that Daryl knew Rick didn't have. He was surprised to find that he wasn't just sorry for the situation, it actually hurt to see it happen. Rick, for all of his human flaws, was a good man, and if Lori died, Daryl knew he'd be devastated.

"You stay here with Mom ok, I'll be right back." Rick told his son before walking out of the RV. Shane was waiting for him, along with Dale and Andrea, Daryl not far behind.

"What the hell do we do?" Rick asked frustration and anger pouring through his words like a cut pours blood.

"Rick, just calm down ok, we gotta think through this, panicking ain't gonna help Lori stay calm or Carl or anybody else, ok, just calm down partner, we'll figure this out." Daryl was surprised. Shane was actually trying to help instead of playing God.

"What are we gonna do?" he all but yelled. "We have no medicine and she might be in there dying for Christ sake!" He wiped the sweat off his face but Daryl had the suspicion there might have been tears there too.

"I can help!"

They all whipped around to see Fox struggling to turn to see them. Rick immediately ran towards her, everyone else following right behind him.

"How, what do you mean you can help?" the former sheriff demanded.

"When shit hit the fan in Atlanta, my group and I took refuge in the hospital. Thought it might be a safe place. Before we left, we ransacked the pharmacy. We took all kinds of medicine and antibiotics. I brought them with me to my camp. They're still there. I can get them and bring them back."

"How the hell can we trust you?" Shane growled, his fingers curling around the handle of his gun.

"You're really going to argue that now when his woman might be dying? Some friend you are." Fox spat coldly.

"Hey listen you little bitch…!" Shane snarled starting towards her.

"Just tell us where your camp is. I can find it and bring the medicine back." Daryl said, looking at her pleadingly, carefully stepping between Shane and Fox. This was her chance to prove to them that she could be trusted, and maybe to get Shane off her back too because he was looking ready to throttle the information out of her.

"No. You cut me loose and I'll take you to it." The stubbornness in her voice was unyielding. Daryl had to resist the urge to smack her for making things difficult. It wasn't that he didn't understand where she was coming from, but Rick wasn't in the mood to be toyed with right now, not when Lori's life might be on the line, and Daryl didn't want to find out how dangerous he might be when under pressure.

"All of us can't go, we still got a shit ton of work to do to pack up." Andrea said heavily. Daryl had noticed her following them out of the RV and he was dearly hoping she didn't try to complicate the situation. He decided to take some insurance to prevent that.

"I'll go. I'll make sure we both come back with the medicine."

Rick looked at him unbelieving at first. Daryl took the stare and held it firmly. His brother hadn't raised a shifty eyed coward. He knew everyone in camp was leery of him and he knew they had a right. It wasn't just Fox that had something to prove.

"How will we even know which ones to give her?" Rick asked urgently.

"My wife was a nurse. She wanted to be a doctor and bought all kinds of books about medicine to start studying. I read some of them too, I'll know which ones." Dale said quickly. He was still calm although it was clear he was concerned.

"Rick, the way she collapsed like that, it won't be long until there's a point of no return. Cut me loose and I swear on my life I'll come back with the medicine."

Daryl was surprised at the sincerity in her words, and in her eyes. Rick seemed to share his reaction. Shane on the other hand looked entirely unconvinced.

The former sheriff paused only a moment longer. He unsheathed his knife and slashed the rope clean through and Daryl darted forward to catch her before she could eat the dirt. He set her on her feet as she jerked the rope off her wrist and threw it to the ground. Blood continued leaking down her wrists but she didn't seem phased by it after a few moments.

"Go. Now. And you had better come back. There will be consequences if you don't." Rick warned, grabbing Fox by the shoulder and squeezing hard. She nodded once to him and he released her. Shane stood by, all but screaming that this was the wrong thing to do. Daryl caught Rick's eyes as he made to follow the red head that was already headed for the woods.

"I'll bring the medicine back." He could have said more but the words died behind his teeth. Something in him twisted uncomfortably at making promises but for the life of him he didn't know why.

Rick nodded to the man and though he didn't speak, all the words he would ever have needed to say were in his eyes. And since Daryl was never a man to spin yarn, that was more than enough. He set off after Fox just as she ducked into the tree line and out of sight.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Well my wonderful readers and reviewers, I'm back again! Bit of a shorter chapter this time, and I'm sure you will all be clambering for more by the end. Let it be known I can be persuaded with more lovely reviews sent directly to my inbox =) Enjoy!**_

**X23 Maximoff**: _Oooooh snap! What's going to happen next? I really want to know! Anotehr wrench has been thrown into the mix, and I can't wait to see how the group deals with it! -XM_

Wait's over my faithful friend ;)

**Emerald Gaze**: _oh my gosh! this, this right here! i was or course happy to see this but yet again it has (helped to) distract me from studying! really though i am such a horrible student for reading this before like 11 other things i have to review, literally at least 11 but it was definitly a good read and i'm happy i did it (for now cuz i know i'm gonna regret it while i'm taking my exam). fox finally gets a chance to prove herself but this means going into the woods with no weapons and bleeding wrists that are bound to draw in the walkers,i hope daryl's decked out enough for the both of them since he kinda left after her without any prep. also, just thought i'd say i really liked how he actually went over and volunteered to take the weight off her hands and asked her if she was taking back her offer from the other night! _ !_

I hear you, I've been putting off my own studying to write, but its completely worth it (especially when both my classes are a piece of cake this semester, score!) but I'm so glad that I was able to keep your interest despite everything else that's going on. And don't worry, Fox might be injured but she's certainly not helpless, and Daryl of course never goes anywhere unarmed. And I'm glad you liked the interaction between Fox and Daryl when he went back to warn her about Shane, I thought it might be too soft for him at first, but I don't think he would see her suffer unnecessarily, at least for a little while.

**FanFicGirl10**: _As much as I hate Lori I don't want her to die…yet. :) Good that they let her help, I hope she actually returns with the medicine. Daryl is following her but wouldn't she know? Love it, Update Soon! *I can't wait to see what other ways she has to manhandle Daryl ;) (SMUT)_

Lori is definitely one of those characters that can go love or hate. I don't hate her, but she's not one of my favs. Who sleeps with their husband's best friend just because she think he's dead? Fox does know Daryl is following her, he's going with, Fox just doesn't wait around for people- they'll either catch up or they won't. And we shall just have to wait and see what happens between Fox and Daryl as far as the manhandling goes- poor Daryl might get eaten alive by sharp Fox teeth ;)

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _So I'm sorta new to this story and I will say you do a great job to keep you everyone in character just great. Please please pleeeeaase tell me real name please I'm dying here, but I will say that the fact that you can make me by "dying here" means your doing a great job of writing in a way of still keeping me interested. Update soon! XoXoKat_

It's always wonderful to see a new reviewer, and I'm so grateful that you've read my work and enjoyed it and are waiting on pins and needles so to speak to see what happens next. I hope I can keep it up, I will certainly do my best!

**Emberka-2012**: _Now let's see if she will keep her word. It will be interesting._

Ain't that the truth ;) Fox has a way of getting things done, but only on her terms. So we shall see how it plays out eh?

**lilnightmare17**:_ awesome another chapter and things are starting to heat up keep it up and update soon_

Things are indeed heating up, and they continue to do so for quite a while. You'll probably really beg me to update quick after this chapter, and hopefully I will be able to do so. I've written several chapters in advance, but I don't wanna give everything away too quick.

**Neri**: _Yay :) Wow that update was quick. Great chapter. Slightly worried about what Shane will do considering the whole Randall thing. Although I think she's smarter than him. I mean who would go into the woods alone with Shane? Brilliant as usual._

I try to keep my reader's satisfied, and even if I'm not updating, I'm usually writing. And I have plans for ole' Shane and the gang and it shall be an interesting and intense spin that happens, and I hope that I satisfy all of you ;) And your right, Fox is smarter than Randall. A lot smarter if I may say so myself lol.

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"If this is some kind of trick, I'll drag you back to camp and hang you up in that tree again myself." Daryl warned as he followed Fox as she nimbly made her way through the trees. Even with her boots on she moved fairly quietly and he wondered how she managed that. Her red hair swished down her shoulders, spilling against her face when she stopped to let him catch up and also to peer down the embankment they were facing. The same one they had rolled down a few nights ago, trying to kill each other.

"No tricks." She said, glancing over her shoulder at him and sending him a grin which only confused him.

"Did you volunteer just to help?" He asked her. She didn't reply at first, just started down the cliff, and he had to admire the way she literally flew down. She moved with the forward momentum rather than trying to fight it, springing off the rocks, landing on others, skidding through the leaves, and landing safe and easy at the bottom. He followed more slowly but her pace didn't let up when he reached the bottom. She was jogging now as though she'd lived in these woods her whole life and knew exactly where everything was, down to the roots of the trees.

"How long have you been living out here?" he continued as he caught up with her.

"How many questions you gonna ask me?" she panted lightly as she turned to face him. Now that she was no longer tied up life seemed to diffuse through her, like she could run ten miles full tilt without stopping for breath. He envied her energy and wondered how after no food for days she could have so much of it.

"As many as it takes to know what I want." He answered.

"Well, to answer your first, I spoke up because if I hadn't, the woman's blood would be on my hands. And I'm no fool. I know a chance to kiss ass when I see it." Her gaze hardened and he didn't reply.

"As for your second, long enough to know that you were an idiot for trying to find my camp. Making so much noise like that, you drew the zombies right to it." Her lips twitched into a rueful smile.

"Zombie?" He rolled the foreign word in his mouth. He'd heard the Walkers called a lot of different things, but that was new to him.

"It's what they are. The dead that have returned to life. Though I suppose there's no witch doctor calling the shots, so maybe they're not technically real zombies." She said. She shrugged her shoulders and continued leading him through the brush.

"And they say I'm the one eating shrooms." He muttered as he followed her, keeping a tight grip on his crossbow.

They walked in silence for a while and he kept a close eye on Fox. The more she moved the more she seemed to forget he was even there. The way her shoulders bent and pulled as she ducked through trees and went down slopes was animal like. The way her legs pushed on, not really pushing, but almost gliding, it as though she belonged here, like she really was the animal that he had named her after. Was that what he looked like when he was hunting? He'd never thought about it before, but seeing her steal through the trees like a ghost made him wonder.

"How much further?" he asked after what had to at least be an hour and a half of moving.

"Getting tired there Daryl?" she asked, flashing sharp teeth at him. He was unnerved and felt his stomach clench in anger.

"I could run you down from here to Canada without stopping, so you just keep going, before I have to turn you into a scarf." He muttered. She paused for a moment, simply staring at him, and it was only then that something else occurred to him. "How do you know my name?"

A grin stole across her face. "One hears things if you pay attention." She said before resuming the brisk pace.

They climbed one more rise and this time when they did so, they were overlooking a creek bed, further into the woods than Daryl had ever been the entire time they'd been camped here, five miles out at least, if not more.

"Down there?" He asked, indicating towards the slowly moving water. It was deep but there was a sandbar cutting across it along with a stone ravine leading down into its depths.

"Yeah. Come on. There's no zombies right now, I would have heard if they'd set off any traps." She began to make her way down the hill, her boots scraping hard into the earth at the steep incline as her feet desperately reached for the rock. She made her way down slowly, using both her hands and her feet to do so to keep from tumbling end over end. He took a leaf out of her book and shouldered his bow, making sure it was secure against his back. He watched where she grabbed the handholds and where she put her feet and it wasn't long until they had made it down into the creek together. She led him up stream just a little ways until he saw a narrow sliver of darkness in the rock. She led him up the smooth rocky slope to the crack which turned out to be a narrow entrance to a cave.

"Come on, its safe." She murmured, beckoning him inside. He was wary- it was never a good idea to go into a small, dark place with someone you didn't know very well, but if she'd led him this far without deception, there wasn't much left but the trip back. He followed her inside, keeping his fingers against his knife.

From the sunlight streaming into the cave from its narrow opening he could see a little of what was inside. There were supplies piled neatly in the back, including a backpack which Fox quickly pulled aside to reveal a belt underneath. A belt with at least ten knives holstered to it.

"Damn girl." He whistled as he examined the size of her weapons, all different sizes and shapes, every one of them lethal, down to the little stiletto she strapped to her right leg. She wound the belt around her hips in a quasi gunslinger style and glanced at him through the curtain of her hair.

"Took them from the city when me and my group were headed out." She said. She now picked up the backpack and unzipped it. She beckoned him closer and when he approached, he saw three gallon size bags of different medicines, all in their original prescription bottles.

"Told you I had the stuff." She said, a look on her face that said she was pleased with herself. She zipped the bag and put it on her shoulders and judging from the way she sighed a little as it settled onto her back it was heavy, but she wasn't complaining.

"Alright, let's go."

He led the way out of the cave and she took them down the creek instead of climbing the hill again. His brow furrowed at her choice of routes. "Hey, isn't that the long way around?" he asked as he traipsed after her.

"I lost my best knife saving your ass. I'm not about to let it go." She said, her eyes steely, but not without a small edge of humor.

His jaw tightened substantially. "You better hurry then. I'll wait for you right here. I'm not running all that way just to have to come back down here."

"Fine." She shrugged but before she left she took a step closer to him. "You trust me to come back? That'd be new."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I ain't stupid Fox. If you've been stealing from us for weeks, you're obviously out of food or out of ways to find it. Plus, you saw the mob we faced yesterday. You don't wanna face that alone. And if I had to bet, I'd say that you let us catch you. That bullet barely grazed you and by the way you moved today, you coulda kept running. You were just putting up with being strung up in the tree until we let you down." His voice was low and tinged with a warning, but if she heard it she either didn't recognize it for what it was, or more likely, didn't give a shit.

"There wasn't much else to do but put up with it, or do you not see this?" She thrust her wrists into his face, close enough that he caught a whiff of her blood, salty and metallic and tinged with pain.

"That's bull. You could have slipped free. Twice." He growled. He didn't have to explain what those two times were. The memory burned in her eyes.

He expected her to get angry at calling her out but she didn't. She merely chuckled at him. She tried to push herself against him again but he stepped back and this time, he swung his crossbow against his chest to block her.

"Go." He ordered.

She laughed as she sprang away, running up the creek and going around the bend, out of sight. He watched her go and listened intently until the sound of her footsteps had disappeared which only took seconds.

"Fucking piece of work she is." He muttered as he scooped a little of the water from the creek into his palm and splashed it against his neck. He kept mulling over all his interactions with her and why she was behaving the way she did and no explanation he came up with made sense. Her mood changed on a dime and he didn't understand what she was after with him. That was twice now she'd tried to put some funky moves on him. For what he didn't know.

He was just about to haul his carcass down the creek after her because he couldn't stand waiting when he heard rustling. He stood up but immediately he knew something was wrong. In the breeze that blew through he could taste death. Just a split second later she came tearing around the bend as fast as she could go.

"Run!" she yelled, her face twisted up in some mixed expression of interest and intensity as she came blazing towards him, splashing through the creek in her haste to get away.

"Jesus Christ did you lead every Walker in the fucking county here?" he demanded. He looked and saw their predicament, and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't taste the bitter tang of fear in the back of his throat.

There was a mob…but it was more than a mob…it was a horde…a herd…an entire herd of those motherless flesh eating fucking sons of bitches and they were all headed straight for them, snarling and growling and wheezing their choking breaths, bringing with them the smell of decaying flesh and death.

"I had just found my knife when they showed up. They all followed me, we have to go!" she screeched. She wasn't out of breath and she didn't sound in pain, more excited than anything else which was strange. He put it out of his mind and ran, keeping pace with her now as she went running up the creek, keeping to the sand rather than the water. A few of the freaks were pulled down in the mud, but the vast majority just kept coming, running after them as best as their damaged legs could carry them.

"Shit, we have to warn the others, it's gonna be a blood bath unless we do something." He panted. He hated the idea of turning and running, but there was no way, even with a gun, that he would have had a chance at holding them off. A glance up gave him more bad news; more Walkers were lining the valley and starting to slide down the sides towards them, just like what had happened when Ed had been bitten. Except this time it was just him and a girl and no guns.

"I'll draw them off, you get back to camp." She had just turned to start running when he snagged her upper arm, wheeling her back around.

"No! You've got the medicine Lori needs, if I go back without you and you get killed, Rick will blast my head off with a shotgun. We stick together and we run, now!" He swung his crossbow and fired, taking down a Walker that staggered down the hill and would have bitten him otherwise.

They fled, racing up the creek bed as fast as they could, splashing through shallow water, kicking stones and rocks as they went, the whole scenery becoming a messy blur of brown, green, and grey as they ran for their lives. Daryl knew there was a time limit on how long they could keep this up; Walkers were getting closer and more were lining the sides. The valley was becoming shallow and the walls that were giving them time to escape were getting lower. More than once he had to leap out of the way as a Walker launched itself from the top of the embankment towards him.

"Oh fuck!" Fox cursed as they were forced to stop. Right where they would have swerved to turn to make a mad dash back to camp was another pack of undead freaks. Smaller than the ones behind them, but already advancing, arms stretched out, jaws chomping like ravenous wolves, hollow growls rattling from torn throats.

"Got no choice." He panted. He notched another arrow and ran for it, heading for the side of the pack. There was brush and entanglements there but it was his best chance. She followed, unsheathing her large knife, the same one she had used the other day, and ran forward kicking off from the ground, picking up speed. She let out an animalistic cry as she plunged the blade right into a Walker's skull and jerked it out cleanly, ducking and shoving and kicking as she went, constantly moving to keep from being laid into. He squeezed the trigger on his bow and took out the last Walker in their way, sacrificing a piece of his shirt that was ripped free as he tore his way loose of the mob.

"Run! Go, go!" They were sprinting up the hill now as fast as they could. The camp was a hundred yards away but the freaks were still coming, and nothing except well aimed bullets were going stop them.

"Walkers!" Daryl shouted at the top of his lungs, even before he reached the tree line. "Walkers! Get the guns!"

They cleared the trees and rushed into camp but to his dismay people were staring at him like he'd grown another head instead of moving. Fox was gasping for breath but she went straight for the RV with her bag. Rick came sprinting over but she literally shoved him out of the way and he turned to Daryl.

"Get the fucking guns, now! There's a herd, they're coming! Right now!" He didn't waste time in being polite, pushing Rick in the chest to get him moving. Just then, they could all hear the collective wheezing death moans of their impending doom as at least fifty Walkers crossed the tree line and into camp.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Well ladies and gentlemen, we are back! I decided that since last chapter was pretty short and left you on such sharp tenderhooks that I would give you something new to chew on. And I am also so excited to let you guys know that I have FINALLY figured out all the last little details of this plot. I started with a rough outline, and then as I was writing everything became so much more involved than I ever thought it could be, things kept changing and shifting and for a while I had three different directions that this story could go. I was up until almost 3AM last night writing it down, throwing it out and starting over, wandering around my apartment, and then outside in my neighborhood hammering out every last detail. But at last it is done, and I know where we're going, and I absolutely cannot wait to take you there. Stick with me guys, things are about to get interesting!_**

**FanFicGirl10**- _Awesome cliffhanger! I loved this chapter, I can't wait till the next chapter, Fox and Daryl certainly would work great together but their stubbornness will not allow that. How will they save Lori with that herd after them. You need to update soon! _

Well my friend, you shall just have to read and find out. And yes, both Fox and Daryl are incredibly stubborn. Daryl is much more open and outright about it, but Fox is more sneaky and misleading I think (or at least that's how she feels to me as I write her) but it is all so much fun and I'm glad that you still really like the story.

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Oh…My…God…my heart is beating out of my chest, great job this chapter not often do I get so into things for my heart to be beating fast. Did you say in one of your chapters what Fox looked like I can't seem to remember for the life of me. Can't wait to see what our survivors do against the herd! Update Soon! XoXoXo-Kat_

I'm so glad I was able to keep you in suspense! Hopefully I continue to do so! I always try to write to the best of my abilities, not just for myself, but for my readers too. And yes, in Chapter Five I gave a description for Fox, but to reiterate she has chest length blood red (dyed obviously) hair, pale skin, bright green eyes, and a silver ring pierced in her lip and an industrial bar in her right ear. Her face is hard but edged with a dangerous femininity- definitely not your traditional 'pretty face'. Body wise she's got meat on her bones- athletic and can take a hit without falling down. Fox was what some people might call a punk before the world ended. Combat boots, studded belt, all that jazz. She's certainly nothing like what Daryl was expecting to find in the woods ;)

**Emberka-2012**: _So she could escape. But it seems the strength in numbers works and for her. _

Yes, she could have gotten loose twice, because when Daryl took the weight off her wrists it loosened the rope enough she could have gotten free, but she knows that she can't survive in the woods full of Walkers, not without help. So she'll have to make the best of where she's at, but fortunately she's creative when it comes to that. ;)

**Kira Tsumi**: _Love it_ can't wait for more_

Yay, another new reviewer! Glad you decided to drop in and say hi!

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Crazy intense chapter!_

It only gets better from here ;)

**Emerald Gaze**: _Man, those people are stupid. One of your own comes running into camp yelling about walkers and guns and you just stand there and stare? Really people get it together! Besides that I'm really glad fox went to get her knife I was wondering about that for a good while since she did say it was 'safe' and all and I can't believe this is already the 8th chap and now our main character is really becoming part of the pack. I can't wait to see how the dynamic between her and Daryl progresses!_!_

Shock can make people slow and put them in a stupor. But don't worry, they'll shake awake, I can promise you that. Its interesting that you called Daryl one of the group's own, because he still doesn't see himself as a real part of them yet, but I'm glad that the readers do =) And as far as her knife being in a safe place, Fox likes to talk in riddles and be confusing, but what she meant was that she had saved Daryl's life with it, and it was still in the zombie's skull that she had killed. And don't worry, you'll get to see plenty of dynamic between them in this chapter, and in future chapters to come. It gets crazy ;)

**derppcasual**: _Ohmygoshhh, what is this woman's name D: Please update as soon s possible, I'm anxious_

Why hello there, another new reviewer, glad you dropped in! As to Fox's name, to put it as she did "You'll never get that from me." ;) But who knows, maybe a certain redneck can coax it out of her one of these days.

**X23 Maximoff**: _WHY YOU LEAVE THIS HERE AUGHASODIHAOG That is…ahem…excellent chapter, love the interactions, please update soon. Tee hee I'm your faithful friend? Yessssssssss -XM_

Why do I leave you here? Cause I can, cause I am slightly evil, but cause I know readers love a good suspense ;) And yes of course you are my faithful friend! You have reviewed every single chapter! Reader loyalty is so important to me! Its so wonderful to keep hearing from the ones who have been with me since the beginning, as well as the new ones that jump in along the way. This is gonna be a long story (like…novel long) and if I can keep people with me from beginning to end…that would just be amazing. Enjoy this update =)

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"Men get the guns! Women and children in the vehicles, leave the supplies, go, go, go!"

Rick bellowed orders like a general trying to make order out of the chaos on the field of battle. Daryl streaked across the empty open space of camp to the other side where the men were going for the guns and bullets, fortunately most of them were already loaded. He wanted his thirty eight bad but there wasn't time to turn all the way around and go for his bike. He leapt over a fleeing child that was crying out in terror and kept going, skidding to a halt at the table where Dale was passing out the weapons. He grabbed the first one he could get his hands on, a steady nine millimeter and whipped back around to the tree line where the Walkers were marching towards them.

But it was a chaotic march. Unlike in a real battle, there were no ranks. Walkers ran every which way, struggling to catch a meal on wheels as it were, and he started picking off skulls one by one. He watched each one that he felled, making sure he saw blood spurting from its head before switching his attention to another. Their hiss-growls, air forced through stiff vocal cords, filled the air with the sound that was synonymous with death.

"Fan out, cover the perimeter, Lori, Carl, you get in the RV, now!" Rick barked as he came running over to the table. Or he tried to. His wife grabbed him by the wrist, her face completely bloodless even as she forced her son behind her legs on the steps of the RV. Daryl watched as Lori kissed him fiercely for just a split second until Rick pulled away and ran towards them. Dale was waiting for him, turning to face him as he shot down another Walker.

"Get in the RV and drive, get them out!" he ordered as he turned to the pack of Walkers that were rampaging through the camp. His revolver was already loose and he fired off a shot to repel a Walker headed straight for them.

"I'm not leaving you here!" Dale protested even as he picked off an advancing Walker with his rifle.

"Get my wife and son out of here, I'm not asking, I'm telling you to make sure my wife and son are safe! Daryl, cover him!" Rick pushed Dale forward, almost directly into the line of fire while Daryl leapt up onto a stump to get a better shot at a Walker that was running straight for Dale. The old man seemed almost paralyzed by fear as he saw the thing coming but Daryl squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew straight and true and slammed the fucker right between the eyes, blasting blood and brains everywhere.

"Move!" Daryl snarled as he picked off another Walker coming towards Dale from behind.

Now Dale didn't hesitate. He ran towards the RV and Daryl followed, moving smooth and steady, spinning on his heels whenever necessary to pick Walkers off, but more and more just kept coming, from every direction, flooding into camp like a swarm of insects. He knew this was a losing battle, and they should all turn tail and run, but Rick was right. They had to get the women and children out first.

"Amy!? AMY!?" Andrea screamed emerging from the RV even as Dale reached its steps. The blonde woman ran into the lawn searching madly for her sister.

"Get back inside! Dale is gonna get you and Lori and Carl out!" Daryl barked. He was running out of bullets even as he popped off another round.

"I have to find my sister!" Andrea cried. She pulled out her silver handgun and started shooting but the bullets flew wide, missing Walkers that were still coming, stretching out rotting hands, blood spilling down their lips.

Fresh blood.

He tried not to think about who might have been ripped to pieces right under their nose. He was sure they'd find the body, or the body might find them before too much longer. He was thinking about that grim possibility as he looked for a way back to the table with the guns and the bullets just as someone else came into the battlefield. Fox, her hair blazing like a lighted flare in the sunlight, threw herself from the roof of the RV and landed right in front of Andrea. She had her large knife pulled free and now used it to impale an oncoming Walker right between the eyes, jerking it out and kicking the now entirely lifeless body away.

"I saw her! She ran down the hill towards the quarry with a few others. They're after them, go now or they'll be trapped down there!" Fox yelled over the din of gunfire.

Andrea turned tail and ran while Fox stayed almost at Daryl's side, stabbing any Walker that got too close. He was amazed at her dexterity and the intensity of her fight, weaving and dodging, almost dancing on the blood slicked ground, like she was on the high wires the movie stars used to make their stunts look epic. She turned and ran when a Walker was coming towards her, but only to kick off a stump, spin, and stab it right through the head. Before he even had time to react, she pulled a knife from her belt free and threw it in his direction. He actually felt the wind from the sailing weapon graze his cheek it came so close to him. When he spun, the blade was imbedded in the bridge of a Walker's nose, dropping it to its second and final death.

He didn't have time to think about it. He spun again and pulled the trigger, but his clip was empty. A small horde of Walkers was approaching and he was cut off from the weapons table that Shane, T-dog, and Glenn were defending. Rick was running every which way in the thick of battle picking off Walkers trying to grab people fleeing for their lives.

"I'll cover you!" Fox yelled to Daryl seeing him pulling his crossbow to the front. She flung another knife and he didn't waste time. In the small path she cleared he ran for it hearing knives splatter blood across the green grass. Once he nearly slipped and fell face first into another corpse as blood watered the grass like a sick form of rain.

Screaming filled the camp even as he skidded to a halt by the weapons table, actually having to duck when a Walker lunged up behind him. Glenn bashed it in the head with the butt of his shotgun before blasting it right in the face. Blood gushed from the wound staining Daryl's boots and the hem of his pants but he couldn't be bothered to care. He dug his hand into the bag of guns and bullets searching desperately for another clip. His fingers closed around one just as a Walker grabbed his leg with both hands, lunging its head down to take a giant chunk out of his thigh. An animal like sound tore free from his throat, a mixture of fear, rage, and an all consuming need to continue existing. He thrashed with all his might to try and shake the creature loose, to prevent it from biting, but his back was pinned halfway between the ground and the table and he had no room to maneuver. He almost screamed for help when suddenly the bony hands squeezed desperately hard but then the body stilled. He looked and saw with amazement that the skull had a knife inserted in it. Further in the distance, at least thirty feet away standing on the rock pile they had made around their camp fires, was Fox, looking not the least bit afraid but exhilarated. How she could look like she belonged so completely to a field of slaughter he had no idea. It was a stretch of his imagination to think she actually enjoyed the carnage that was being wrecked across the camp, but she didn't flinch from it. She didn't turn away. And when yet another blood curdling scream sliced the air in two, she turned and ran _towards _the sound. And for a reason he would never understand entirely, he followed.

They found the source of the screaming. It was Amy, Carol, and Sophia all trapped at the bottom of the quarry by a mob of Walkers. Andrea was halfway down, running as fast as her legs could take her, her gun already drawn.

"They'll be butchered down there!" Fox panted. There was still no fear, but an unyielding sense to do something, anything, to prevent what was sure to be a massacre.

"I've got three arrows and four bullets, it ain't enough." He retorted, wiping blood away from his face so he could see without the threat of it stinging his eyes.

"Get creative." Fox challenged before tearing down the hill as fast as she could go. He turned and saw Shane running towards him.

"What happen…holy shit…" He gasped looking down the hill and seeing the unfolding horror.

"Well don't just stand there looking pretty, city slicker. Let's go!" Daryl growled. He ran down the hill after Fox and towards what might very well have been certain death. He was surprised that Fox had leapt directly into the fray of Walkers, drawing three away as she skidded through the loose gravel and stones.

"Come on, come on you ugly ass motherfuckers, come on!" she jeered, drawing as many away as possible. Daryl could see she only had one knife left, her biggest one, the one she'd saved him with yesterday. She had it in her hands and was weaving in and out of the grip of the Walkers, finally risking a strike. She yowled with fright or maybe pain as she missed and clocked one in the head with her arm, but it wasn't a kill shot. She panicked and scrambled back but stumbled, even as half of the horde were still running towards the others trapped down there.

"Get up!" Daryl shouted as he fired a well placed bullet and took down the Walker that would have torn her throat clean open. She had it by the wrists, forcing it away from her even as it struggled to sink its teeth into her skin. When the bullet met its skull, the bone shattered and acrid blood gushed everywhere, she kicked the body away and got up to her feet. With a furious cry of indignation and rage, she stabbed another Walker straight through the open mouth and out the back of the head.

"AMY!" Andrea shrieked. She'd been aiming and shooting as best she could but her last shot had gone wide and missed it's target. Daryl turned and saw the bloody scene unfolding in slow motion. Amy was pushing Sophia out of the way of an oncoming Walker, and in doing so, Amy's feet slipped on the slick rocks at the edge of the water. A Walker reached and caught Amy by the hair; the monster pulled the blonde girl into its torn open chest and sank its teeth deep into Amy's neck and shoulder.

It would have been a scream except for the sound of blood and wet choking breaths prevented the volume from rising through Amy's throat. As it was she spat blood onto the rocks beneath her feet and still fought to get away even as the Walker took her down and ripped a massive chunk of flesh away from her bone. Daryl's stomach turned over hardas he saw her bloodstained collarbone with the naked eye.

Andrea screamed a wordless cry of rage and pain and ran forward, slamming the Walker that was still feasting on her sister right in the forehead with the butt of her gun. She pounded over and over and over again until the skull had completely shattered, and thick black blood gushed over her hands. Daryl fired off the last of his bullets and used one more arrow while Shane took out the rest of the horde. At last all the bodies lay unmoving. All but one.

"Amy! Amy, I'm so sorry…Amy…please…" Andrea's voice was a high pitched, barely understandable whine of terror and despair. The younger version of herself groped blindly for her sister's hand, and instead her bloody hand touched her sister's cheek. Blood was still gushing from her wound, preventing her from speaking or breathing very efficiently but Daryl could hear her trying to choke something out.

"Andrea…" Shane's voice was very quiet. "Andrea. She's dying. She's suffering."

"Get the fuck away from us!" Andrea snarled. She whipped her gun and cocked the hammer back, pointing it straight at Shane's face.

"You're gonna let her drown in her own blood?" Fox demanded.

Daryl turned to see her approaching, her boots soaked with blood as she kicked aside several Walker bodies and made her way to the scene. He could see no sorrow or pain in her face at the tragedy literally bleeding out at their feet, but there was a sense of hollow accomplishment.

"I won't hesitate to shoot you too!" Andrea growled. Her hand was shaking and tears were spilling down her face, taking with them rivulets of blood. Her sister's blood that was smeared across one of her cheeks.

"Back off." Daryl advised quietly. He might not have liked Andrea very much or had known Amy very well, but he knew how deep the bond between siblings could go, and he would have wanted to be alone had it been him and Merle. His stomach rolled over uncomfortably thinking about that. He also would have wanted Merle to shoot him, clean through the head, and put him out of his misery. There were scarce few deaths worse than drowning in your own blood.

"She's dying for Christ's sakes! She can't breathe!" Fox argued. "Put her down!"

Andrea squeezed the trigger. A bullet fired and Fox yelped, ducking down almost at the same instant, but Daryl had been able to see that the gun wasn't aimed at Fox, instead a good ways to the left. It was a waste of a bullet, but she had a right to make herself be obeyed when it came to her and her sister's last minutes on earth together. He decided to intervene before Andrea really tried to kill her, or anybody else.

"Come on, let them be." He ordered, approaching Fox and grabbing her by the upper arm. He made to drag her away, but she wrenched out of his grip and stalked off on her own towards where Shane was standing, hands on his hips, watching with a mixture of sadness, disbelief, and anger written all over his face. When Fox walked past him they didn't meet eyes and they didn't say a word. She just kept going and this time Daryl didn't follow.

Carol and Sophia stood by, the child huddled into her mother's legs, fortunate to be alive and acutely realizing that. Carol picked her way around the bodies, her daughter following close, so close her hand was fisted into the hem of her mother's shirt even as she tried not to cry. Her mother wasn't faring much better. Tears were already slipping down her frail cheeks as she watched Andrea sink to her knees next to her sister. Andrea was saying something but her voice was so choked with tears that Daryl couldn't understand what it was. He had the feeling he was intruding on something he shouldn't see. That he wasn't allowed to be here. But Andrea seemed to have become oblivious to everything else around her now. He and the others stood in a crushing, agonizing silence when the sound of falling rocks made him and Shane turn around and raise their weapons, only to lower them a moment later when they saw Rick and Dale headed there way. A tiny bit of relief stole into Daryl's chest. Dale could help Andrea through this; he'd always had a close bond with both girls.

"What the hell happened?" Rick demanded as he convened with Shane and Daryl while Dale hurried to where Andrea was still sobbing next to her sister.

"We panicked…Rick…I…if we had gone for the cars this wouldn't have happened." Carol's tear choked statement made the sheriff's eyes grow dim and his head duck.

"This isn't your fault." He said firmly. "This could have happened to anybody."

"Amy…she…she pushed Sophia out of the way and when she did…she slipped, and…" Carol couldn't force the words out anymore. She clutched Sophia tightly and Daryl turned his face away. He couldn't stand this. It might have been wrong but he had nothing to say and this was pure torture. He walked away, back up the hill towards camp. But there was nothing happy waiting for him there either. There were bodies everywhere, blood still pouring over the grass, the sounds of moaning and the smell of death saturated the air. He saw Glenn near the table where the bag of guns and bullets lay and he approached cautiously.

"How many of ours?" he asked. To his credit, the kid wasn't crying or sniveling but his eyes were incredibly sad and his entire frame seemed to shake, as if he was exhausted and gravity might drag him down to the ground.

"Jim. Morales. One of their kids. Jacqui is…" His gaze turned towards the center of camp where he saw T-dog kneeling by Jacqui on the ground. She didn't look in too bad of shape but when T-dog shifted his position to sit next to her, Daryl saw that a bad chunk had been ripped out of her calf.

"Amy too." Daryl said quietly.

If it was possible Glenn's eyes grew even more stressed and miserable. "Where the hell did they come from?" he demanded.

"You saw the mob in the woods yesterday. Fox found them when we went back for the medicine for Lori. They followed us here."

Glenn rounded on him and Daryl was surprised that he didn't seen anger on his face but curiosity and something that looked like concern.

"Is that her name?" he asked softly. He was looking past him now, towards the fire pit where she was sitting on the wall staring out into the trees, her red hair burning in the sunlight, but it was so close to the color that ran like water through the grass from so many bodies, it almost made him nauseas.

"I don't know. I just call her that." Daryl muttered, turning away from the kid and going towards his tent. He dearly hoped that the Walkers hadn't torn it to shreds and had left his bike alone. He approached cautiously, an arrow notched in his bow just in case.

But everything was quiet. The Walkers hadn't even come by this way. He checked over his bike and this time tucked his gun in his pants. He wasn't going anywhere without it, not after this. He swung himself onto the bike and gently squeezed the handles. Memories rolled through him one after the other, some good and some bad as he allowed himself to sink down into the machine. There was a nagging thought in his mind that maybe he should just leave. He'd do better on his own, he knew he would. He could fend for himself, he didn't need all of this to drag him down. All of this emotion, this weight, this torture of watching the last few threads of humanity literally being ripped apart and swallowed down the gullets of despair. He didn't need this.

He was so far into his thoughts that he didn't hear the rustling of someone's approach until the last second. When a twig finally snapped audibly he jerked up, getting off the bike and holding his crossbow to his chest, aiming it towards the sound.

"Easy. It's me."

He lowered the bow and saw blood red hair emerge from behind a bush, the woman beneath its scarlet curtain familiar and strange to him at the same time.

"Don't sneak up on people like that. You'll get killed." He warned as he turned away from her.

"The group is meeting to start working on the bodies." Her voice was quiet and solemn but not sad. She didn't have to be- these weren't her people that had been butchered today, and he envied her that.

"So? There's more than enough of them without adding me in." he muttered turning away and beginning to dig in his tent for what remained of his belongings. Wasn't much, just some clothes and another small knife. He was rolling everything up into a bundle and expected her to be gone by the time he came back out.

But she wasn't.

She was still standing there, this time with her arms over her chest, staring at him with an impatient look on her face, like he owed her an explanation. The fact she had the balls to stand there with that look on her face aggravated him faster than Shane ever had, and that was saying something.

But she didn't stop there. She stepped closer to him, as though determined that he listen to her. "You fought beside these people. Lived beside them. The least you could do is help bury them." She said and although her eyes were hard, they were not cold.

He moved past her to his bike and put his clothes into the satchel where his gun had once been. When she wouldn't leave at the sound of his silence, and actually took another step closer, he jerked up from his work and stared her in the face.

"Get something through your thick head. I don't know these people and they don't know me. They ain't looking to me for nothing. Get the hell out of here and leave me be."

"Coward." She hissed before spinning on her heel and storming away.

Of all the things she could have called him that had to be the strangest, but maybe the most accurate, and he knew it. He drove his fist into the side of his satchel as hard as he could, the stiff leather rebuffing his blow and causing his knuckles to flare with pain. He huffed a tense breath and stared down at the grass that was already beginning to wither and die in the ferocious Georgia sun.

He wasn't afraid of death. He wasn't afraid of blood or guts or carnage. He'd grown up with that his whole life. He wasn't afraid of pain or scars or strikes from people who were supposed to be better than what they were. He wasn't afraid of hunger or cold or the loneliness of an empty highway and the screaming silence of the wind at sixty miles an hour on his bike. He wasn't afraid of the walking dead that now ruled the world.

But there was something he was afraid of, and he hated her for figuring it out so easily. Somewhere deep in his mind, in the dark bloody corners that he had never bothered to bandage because there wasn't much point, his brother jeered at him and his father struck him across the chest with a steel blade, giving him a scar he'd carry for the rest of his life.

He hadn't realized his eyes were closed as he leaned against the bike. He didn't know how much time had passed before he managed to get them open. For a long time he stared down at the grass and the bits of metal of the bike he could see from the top of his vision, trying hard to pretend that all the feelings roiling in his chest weren't real. Merle would have laughed at him so much for being such a girl, worrying and whining like a bitch, even if it was only in his mind. He felt the beating of the sun on his neck and back and wondered if there would ever be a reprieve in this God forsaken hell hole he now found himself in.

When he looked up, he was startled. She was still there. Further away and only offering her profile. The blasting Georgia sun turned her pale skin to white gold and her hair burned like crimson fire, such a sharp contrast amongst the greenery of the woods behind her. She was staring somewhere off into the atmosphere, a photographer's dream of mystic creativity. She finally seemed to notice he was watching and caught his eye smiling at him, just a little, mostly in her eyes. She slid off the tree branch she'd been sitting on and slightly tilted her head for him to follow her as she went towards camp, and like he'd been doing since he'd first known she existed, he followed her. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because he had nothing better to do. Maybe it was because he didn't want someone else to come and fetch him later. Maybe it was just because he didn't want to be alone.

And wonder of wonders, as he followed her back into camp, back into hell, the first cool breeze of the summer drifted through the camp and kissed his skin.


	10. Chapter 10

**_And we are back again! I'll be updating pretty regularly, and quickly, from now until I leave for Europe hopefully, oh and good news! I will be able to bring my laptop and have internet while I'm oversees, so I will be able to update for you guys! It won't be as fast as it has been in the past, but you should still hear from me every three or four days hopefully. I'll only be gone 2 weeks, so hopefully you guys will hang with me until I get back. Now, on with the show! _**

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Great chapter as usual, I loved the action scenes they were better than anything I could do but then again I suck at writing so just about everything you write is better than mine. Are you ever going to reveal what Fox's real name is and if so can you maybe give me a hint. Please. Anayway as I said your chapter was great every time I see you updated I squeal, legit. Update soon! XoXoXoKat_

Writing is an art, and art takes practice. The more you write, the better you get. I've been writing since I was about 13 and I'm almost 21 now, so I've been doing this for a while. I always try and improve and hold myself to higher standards with each new story I write. It seems to be working so far :) As to Fox's real name…hmm…well…it will be revealed eventually but when that is I can't say. You'll just have to keep reading to find out ;)

**Always Dean's Girl**: _I love this story, Fox is such a strong character, I love her attitude, I want her to kiss Daryl lol :L I'm soo sad, can't wait for the next chapter, update soon :P_

Nice to see another new reviewer, thanks for dropping in! Awww, yay, I'm glad Fox is being met with warm acceptance. I had worried she might be to fiery and too stubborn to make a good impression on the readers, but I'm glad she's impressing you guys. Lol, you'll just have to wait and see if there is any kissing to be had between Fox and Daryl [and I speak for quite a few females I think when I say I wouldn't mind kissing Daryl either ;)]

**X23 Maximoff**: _Yay internet friends! This chapter was by far my favorite. 1) The action was spectacular. You directed a great movie in my head just now. 2) The emotion with Amy. I felt the sorrow from Andrea, the guilt from Carol, the discomfort of Daryl. 3) The interaction between Fox and Daryl was brilliant. I love the way she shocks him all the time. 4) That whole last part. Can I hold Daryl? Yes please. Hold him forever. 5) That breeze. The breeze of hope and new beginning. I can't wait for the new chapter! -XM_

That is the wonderful thing about the internet- the opportunity to meet all kinds of new people =) And I'm so glad you liked this chapter for multiple reasons. Whenever I write, I see things like a movie in my head, the flashes of color, the blur of the character's movement, the roar of the gunfire, rapid heartbeats and gasped breaths. I try to insert myself into the character's POV so the focus narrows, but sometimes its good to pan the camera back so to speak and get shots of the rest of the action too. As far as the emotions are concerned, again, I try to slide myself into each person's heart and find out what they would be feeling and how they would react, and of course that goes with Fox and Daryl's interaction too. She's hot headed and impatient and she's not afraid of saying what she thinks. She knows she pisses people off and steps on their toes so-to-speak and she knows the consequences of that, but she couldn't care less. Daryl's a lot like that too which is why they clash, but honestly, I think Daryl has more tact than she does XD. Whoever thought that could be said about Daryl? And yes, I just wanna hold him forever, he's so huggable, even when he's filthy and bloodstained. This show does unhealthy things to the female psyche, I swear XD

**FanFicGirl10**: _Poor Amy her death is always so sad to me. Love the action from this chapter was awesome. :) I love the combo of Fox and Daryl had. Fox calling Daryl a "coward" just wow! I can't wait for more, Update Soon!_

Amy's death really was one of the pitching moments in the show for me. Like 'shit just got real' kind of things. I felt so heartbroken for Andrea. And I knew when I was writing this Amy's name was on the chopping block, but I tried to give it a different spin. I do think Amy would have sacrificed herself to save a child, and that is as good a death as any could be. And by 'good' I mean honorable. And yes, Fox called Daryl out on that one. Daryl's not a coward in the sense he won't fight to the last breath, but he is afraid of his own emotions, and he doesn't want to face them, and has thus far dug his heels in about getting attached to anybody. Fox is not so subtly dragging him to emotional places he doesn't really want to go. She's no shrink, that's for sure, but I think she's good for him =)

**Emerald Gaze**: _Ooo, that was so dramatic. The way you word things especially. And you managed to kill off just about all the people that die before an during their time in the CDC in the show, all in one go. But if morales and 1 of his kids died then what is his wife and other kid gonna do? I doubt she'd wanna leave the safety of the group without hr husband but I don't really see how they'll fit into the events to come. Guess I'll just have to see. P.s I'm glad you put a dividing line between the review replays and the beginning of the fic, I kept forgetting to mention that! _

I knew that there was going to be a massacre in camp just like there was in the show, but in the show they had more extras that were eaten and the only core members of the group that were killed were Amy and Jim. I decided to up the ante so to speak since I didn't throw extras in. I shall do my best to leave no stone unturned, so I will have answers for you. And yeah, the dividing line, for some reason doesn't include the extra spaces when I do my final edit in the Doc Manager thing, so I used the line this time.

**lilnightmare17**: _Awesome can't wait to read more and also Fox can really fight was she in the special forces or something?_

I shall reveal Fox's past eventually (I'm actually already writing it, but as I've said before, I write several chapters in advance) and in that explanation, I shall reveal why she can fight so well ;)

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _Wow. After I read this chapter, I read through the whole story again and I'm amazed. You're a talented writer and I adore this story. Fox is one of my favorite OCs and I love how Fox and Daryl interact. I cannot wait for the next chapter and I'm soooooooo excited that you plan to make this a long story because I am now addicted. Please update soon (: Jess_

Hi there! Thanks for dropping in, and I'm so glad that you like my work! Wow, you re-read the whole thing? That's just freaking awesome! I'm so glad you like Fox, I tried to make her as distinct as possible because I know there are a lot of TWD stories with OCs and Daryl involved, so I'm glad she's making an impression! And yes, this story is gonna be really long, probably one of the longest things I've ever written (which is saying something) and I'm so glad that people are excited for it!

**Emberka-2012**: _The camp was too disorganized. All ran in different directions and not everybody listened to orders. It seems now Daryl and Fox have saved each other. _

Yes, the camp was disorganized. They were lulled into a false sense of security which humans are oft to have happen to them. But now they know, especially Rick. He won't make that same mistake again. And yes, Daryl and Fox have saved each other, and there will be plenty more where that came from ;)

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Loved the chapter!_

Yay! It's always wonderful to hear an author's work is appreciated =D

* * *

Camp was in a horrible state by the time he and Fox showed up. The group had already started piling Walker bodies up in preparation to be burned. Sweat soaked the skin of every single person, pouring off them as though they'd just gotten out of the shower. This would be one day the afternoon rain wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Daryl worked on the fringes of the camp, picking up the pickax and bashing in skulls of the Walkers, just incase. Just to make sure that they stayed dead. T-dog, Shane, Dale, and some of the others were working with the shovels on the rise about fifty yards from camp, digging furiously. Daryl wasn't sure why. It'd be easier, and better, to burn the dead. No chance of coming back, no opportunity for them to be food for anything else.

Sprawled in the middle of camp was Jim's body. Torn to bits, huge chunks of his face and neck missing. His nose was completely gone, the rest of his face a mask of blood. Even some of his beard was missing, having been ripped off by ruthless Walker hands. The rest of his body had been torn open and gorged out of but much of his internal organs still remained, haphazardly hanging out of the body cavity. It truly was a horrible, disgusting sight.

Daryl grabbed him by the foot and started to drag him to the pile to set to burn. He was lighter than a deer but not by much, and he hadn't made it far when Glenn, covered in sweat, dirt, and grime noticed what he was doing.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, leaning against a tree trying in vain to keep the sweat out of his eyes.

"Gonna burn. He's only going to come back later. Least this way he can't do more harm." He was already out of breath, the unrelenting Georgia sun blasting down on them even as he hauled the body towards the burn pile.

"No!" Glenn cried, getting into his face. "Only geeks go here! Our dead are over there, lined up! We bury them! We don't burn them!" He sounded close to tears, of both anger and pain. Daryl paused and stared the kid in the face. In his mind Daryl had a dim flicker of respect for Glenn. He might have been young and afraid of a lot of things, but he had the balls to stand up for what he thought was right, even in the face of someone like himself. He'd known bigger, better armed men who wouldn't have challenged him so vehemently.

"We bury them!" he finished with a resolute nod of his head.

"Suit yourself." Daryl growled. If it had been any other day he would have just dropped what he was doing and left, but Fox was right. There was too much work to do, and less people to do it. Whether he liked it or not, these people actually needed him now, in no matter how trivial a way. And he had enough respect for most of them to acknowledge that they had helped him survive out here too. He wasn't like Merle. He wouldn't leave them hanging.

He picked up the body again and began to drag it where Morales and one of his sons was already laid out. The presentation of both wasn't pretty, and adding Jim's body only somehow made it worse, but he didn't let it stop him. He picked up the pickax and started going one by one through the remaining Walkers that were scattered around camp, bashing in their skulls. It was backbreaking work, swinging and slamming the weapon down, jerking it free, and lifting it up to do it again. But after a while it was almost rhythmic, and the sound of bones being crushed like some sick drumbeat. He focused on nothing but the task at hand, until he saw Rick and Shane come back up the hill from the quarry and it was clear that something was on both their minds.

"We have a decision to make." Rick said, stopping the work everyone was doing and calling them over.

"What do we do about our dead who've been bitten?" Shane said, getting the words out cleaner and easier than Rick could have. Daryl had seen the words in Rick's eyes but he wasn't surprised that he hadn't been able to say them. Shane had no qualms about being blunt.

"We can't let them come back." T-dog said, panting a little as he dug his shovel into the ground and leaned on it for a minute.

"So what, we let him bash their skulls in?" Glenn spat, giving Daryl a look of disgust. "There's got to be a better way to do this."

"Oh yeah, go ahead and waste fifty bullets while you're at it." Daryl snarled. "Least I'm taking care of the problem."

"Ok, everybody calm down." Rick said, getting between the two men before it could escalate. Not that Daryl really thought he and Glenn would come to blows (it wouldn't have been much of a challenge if they did) but Rick never liked to see the group fight.

"Shooting's out, but there has to be a better way to do this." Lori said softly. Daryl turned to see her and she looked in bad shape. He didn't know if Fox had managed to get her the medicine in her bag before all hell had broken loose, or if she was simply distraught at what had happened. It could have been either. Or both.

"Here." Fox said, unsheathing her largest knife from its holster on her hip. "I can take care of them."

"No." Shane growled shaking his head, eyeing her knife as though she might try and stab him with it. "These are our dead and we'll handle them."

Fox shrugged. "Fine. I was going to save you the trouble of stabbing your loved ones through the face, but do it yourself then." She holstered her knife and walked off, heading down the quarry.

"Are you sure its safe to let her be walking around?" Carol asked Rick quietly. "I mean she was tied up just a few hours ago." Daryl watched as she pulled Sophia close. She huddled by her mother's legs, her small hand twisted up into the hem of her mother's shirt. It struck a cord of some sort in him, but hell if he knew what.

"I don't know, but she's not our biggest problem right now. Shane, you handle the bodies of our dead. Everybody else, get back to work. I want us out of here by nightfall." Rick turned and walked back down towards the quarry and now Daryl followed.

"I don't mean to put this on you." Rick started as the two men looked down the long gravel path and saw Fox's red hair flashing in the sunlight as she made her way towards Andrea, a hundred yards or so ahead of them.

"But you want her to be my responsibility." He guessed. "I'm not stupid, Rick."

He stopped and turned to face Daryl. "Just for now. Just until we can trust her. Till we know that she's not going to turn on us."

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "She saved your wife's life today. And mine. What more do you need from her?"

Rick tilted his head. "I get that. But we don't know her. And people change. This world…it makes them different. They change. You know that." His voice was gravely serious. "Just…just keep an eye on her."

"I don't got time to babysit her. She can take care of herself. If we're pulling out, we're gonna need food now more than ever." He didn't know why he was balking so much at what Rick was asking from him. It wasn't that hard. Fox seemed to want nothing more to get in his face and aggravate him. But he still didn't wan her to be his responsibility. He had never wanted anyone to be his responsibility.

"Daryl. Everybody's scared, and the last thing we need is some stranger, armed, running through camp. Just…please. I'm asking. I know I don't have a right to ask this of you, but…please." His eyes were desperate. Desperate and completely exhausted. The strain of what had happened looked like it might be enough to break him. If it weren't for the steel resolve that he would not give in. Daryl had a lot of respect for that. Men had killed themselves over a lot less stress than what Rick was shouldering.

He nodded once and then headed down the hill after Fox. Rick followed at his shoulder but they slowed down once they reached the bottom of the hill. On the shore of the quarry's blue water Andrea was still sitting with Amy, stroking her sister's cheek, holding her hand, occasionally whispering something Daryl couldn't make out. Fox stood about thirty feet away, crouched down, her knees bent to her chest, her arms crossed over her knees watching Andrea closely. Rick approached the blonde girls but Daryl went to Fox.

"If you're looking for an apology, you won't get it from me." She said quietly. There wasn't any anger in her voice, but there was defiance. And resolution.

"You got a bad habit of speaking when you don't need to." He said. He wouldn't look at her and instead watched as Rick kneeled down next to Andrea. Daryl thought he made out a word here and there, but for the most part the exchange was whispered and terse.

"If you tell me you're one of those that think women should be seen in the kitchen and not heard, let me know, and I'll fix that for you in a heartbeat, with a good kick where it counts." Now there was anger in her tone, a sharp, venomous bite in every syllable.

"That'd be more along my brother's lines of thinking. I ain't like that." He muttered. "But there's still a time when you should shut your mouth. Especially when you're the odd man out."

Now she did look at him. Her eyes were hard as slate and gave no ground, but he stared right back. He'd be damned if he let her cow him into backing down. His brother hadn't raised a bitch.

"I'm an old hand at that game. Its never stopped me before." She answered softly. And with that, he could tell there was no ground yielded between the two of them. She was doing this on her terms, not his. But as long as she cooperated, he wasn't going to complain.

"The girl's dead. When she comes back and bites someone else, who's fault will it be?" she asked. Her voice was softer now, but Daryl was surprised at how callous her words were. It was almost reminded him of Shane.

"Let that be on Andrea. It ain't your problem is it?" Daryl caught her eye. She looked back at him without apology.

She shook her head. "I guess it isn't. I just wouldn't want to be the one to live with that guilt."

They sat in silence for a long time, until Shane and Dale came down to the quarry. "We're ready." Shane said. He sounded out of breath, but Daryl wondered if it was because he was trying to be unobtrusive. It would have been a first.

"She's not." Fox said quietly. She got up and walked towards the men. Her shoulders were actually shaking for some reason and she shrugged them in a bid to make them stop, but Daryl couldn't see it from being afraid.

"Yeah, well, whether she is or she isn't, we have to get this done." Shane muttered. Rick looked at his friend and Daryl watched a silent exchange pass between them.

"Shane's right. We don't have much time." Rick said heavily. "And there's still the issue of Jacqui."

"The living aren't so different from the dead. Not unless we do something different." Fox murmured before getting up and walking towards the men. "It doesn't take Einstein to see she's lost everything. Let her sit vigil. She won't let Amy hurt anybody."

She headed back up the hill again and Daryl made to follow but watched as Shane shook his head. He too was confused as to her change of heart so suddenly. Maybe it was a girl thing.

"She's on an awful high horse for having just been cut loose. Which I'm still not sure was a good idea." Shane muttered. Rick had stepped away to try and talk to Andrea and now it was just the two of them standing face to face.

"She's right." Daryl said quietly. He looked down and saw with a very delayed reaction that there was blood all over his hands. Walker blood. Blood that could very well have been that of the group's. He wasn't willing to call them friends yet…but under no circumstances did he want to feel the stickiness of their blood against his skin.

"Yeah, well, you won't mind if I say that you're not the one to be making judgment calls." Shane sneered.

"And you are?" he jabbed right back.

"What the hell do you do for this group?" Shane asked, stepping towards him, his dark eyes staring right back into Daryl's, unyielding and determined to be as much of a pain in the ass as possible.

"I keep your sorry stomachs full and your heads attached to your shoulders is what. Not that you would know what any of that is like! Picking food off from strangers and getting other people to do your dirty work. I never saw you making runs into Atlanta for supplies!" Daryl snarled. His temper, that for so long he'd held down, shackled beneath the bolt of reason and the tiniest amount of respect, roared back to greet him like a match set to gasoline. "Hadn't been for me, Rick might have died yesterday! Lori might have died today! You talk such a big talk about keeping them safe, but all you do is sit around and bitch at people what to do and then piss and moan when they don't do it your way. And you wanna talk about what I do? You can take that pedestal you stand up on and shove it up your ass!" He spat at the cop's feet and turned to walk away.

Daryl heard the scraping sound of gravel. Blood rushed through his veins as he whirled around just as Shane was flinging a punch straight at his head, his feet digging into the ground to give him traction as he launched himself forward.

He ducked out of instinct- having been jumped one too many times to fall for it- and rammed his shoulder straight into Shane's chest. He was drove the man into the ground and reared his fist back, just like pulling the metal coil back on his bow. He rammed his fist clean and strong straight into Shane's jaw, causing the man's head to snap back hard. Pain bloomed in his knuckles and he didn't give two shits. But Shane was a fighter too, and he drove his fist into his cheek so hard Daryl was almost positive he felt the bone break but he'd taken hits to the face before. He fisted both hands into Shane's shirt and lifted the man up, readying himself to bash him back into the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious.

"Shane! Daryl! What the fuck, stop it!" Rick yelled, hearing the fighting going on and running from Andrea's side towards the two men. The blonde girl didn't even appear to notice what was happening, not even so much as turning her head to acknowledge what was happening.

Rick tried to grab Daryl by the shoulders to haul him off of Shane's chest but Daryl slammed his forearm into Rick's shin, buckling the cop and throwing him off. The motion however left him open for attack and Shane drove his fist straight into Daryl's gut. The roughneck gagged feeling his insides crumple like a crushed beer can from the force of the blow. He staggered but it wasn't enough to put him down. He tackled Shane again, but Rick was back on his feet and this time he meant business. He grabbed Daryl by the shoulders trying to dislodge him from Shane's chest. When it didn't work he started pulling and clawing at Daryl's other hand which was curled around Shane's throat, which by now was squeezing the life out of the cop, slowly throttling him. Shane kicked and thrashed obviously not about to go anywhere quietly.

"Daryl, stop, don't do this, Daryl, let go!" Rick all but screamed. He had his arms going around Daryl's shoulders and neck, ready to start physically hauling Daryl off of Shane when cool wind suddenly blew past Daryl's cheek. He froze when he saw a large steely blade imbedded in the gravel not two inches from Shane's face where he lay still writhing on the ground. When he saw the knife he stilled and Daryl let him go off his own accord, turning around to see Fox standing there, her arm still outstretched from where she'd thrown her weapon.

Without a word she marched over and grabbed her knife from the ground. Just as she pulled it free Rick took the opportunity and pried Daryl off of Shane, flinging him away hard enough to almost make him eat the dirt. Once he was upright again he rounded on Fox angrily.

"What the hell you think you doing bitch? Get back to camp and leave this to us!" he snarled. There was no softness, no quiet, no mercy in his voice. His temper was so riled and the rush of battle burned so strong in his veins he would have tussled to the dirt with her too if she gave him just half a reason.

"So you can kill one of the ones your supposed to protect? Not on your life." She spat. She stormed straight back towards him and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. It was hard enough to make his head fly halfway around his neck. Then she grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him away.

"I'm not your dog!" he yelled, shoving her off. She danced out of his reach, using the momentum he gave her to her advantage.

"Daryl, go. Get out of here." Rick ordered. His eyes were hard and unforgiving. Shane was bleeding from his nose and lip and absentmindedly Daryl realized he was also bleeding from his cheek. His ribs were sore and it hurt to breathe but he would be damned if he walked away from this the loser.

"Next time, there won't be a next time." Daryl warned. He wiped the blood away from his face before leaving the scene, marching up the hill, this time Fox following at his heels.

"I heard what you said. And I get why you tried to bash his face in. I would have too." She told him even as the heat continued to climb higher and higher.

"Then why didn't you just keep your nose out of where it don't belong and let me fucking handle it? God damn, what does a man have to do to get anything done around here?" He spat angrily. More blood was running from his cheek and nose now and he carelessly wiped it away, ignoring the stinging pain as he did so.

"I didn't do it for him." She said, speaking softer now, but her voice was chipped with flint. She slowed down and out of instinct he did too, catching her eye. Her gaze was a mixture of things he could only begin to decipher, starting with the oddest sense of connection. Like she really would have traded places with him and been the one to hit Shane so hard he saw last Tuesday in the whiplash. Except there was something else too. Almost like she felt sorry for him in some weird way, but that wasn't it either.

"What?" If he was going to get anything out of this puked up fur ball of a mess besides Rick's judgment, condemnation, and the rest of the camp's disapproval, it might as well be an explanation from her. Why the hell not.

"I don't have to know you to know that we shouldn't be beating the living to death. There's just not enough live people going around for that shit."

She walked away as if that was supposed to make any sense to him. It did, in a way, but that didn't mean he was grateful. And that didn't mean he thought she should have interfered.

When they arrived back at camp, most of the work for the burials had been done. Glenn and T-dog finished fetching rocks to line the outside of the graves. When they showed up Lori climbed off the steps of the RV in shock when she saw the state Daryl was in.

"What the hell happened down there?" she demanded. Dale came towards them as well, watching Fox with a little more concern than Daryl which only made the tension in his neck worse.

"Nothing." He growled. He didn't have to answer to her. Let that be Shane and Rick's problem. And if he was honest with himself, he believed she was way more trouble than was worth the contention she brought between the two men that were supposed to be leading them. Not that Rick had ever asked to be a leader. He was just unlucky enough to be born with that sense of responsibility, and the ability to take charge.

"I'm thinking we should see the other guy to find out what happened." Dale muttered, his dark eyes bitter and disappointed. Daryl let it roll off his back. Like he gave a shit what anybody else thought. He never had before. Not much point in starting now.

"Maybe you should. You all just believe him over me anyway. So go on. Walk all that way down there and figure out what happened for yourself." He stalked away and was thankful, more so than he thought he could be, that Fox did not follow him.

She turned instead towards Lori who still wanted an explanation of some kind. The redhead watched as Daryl made his way through camp towards his tent. He moved with the stiff power of a riled predator that wouldn't hesitate to lash out again. She understood. She didn't approve, but she understood. Shane had gotten a similar reaction from her every single time he'd tried to interrogate her. And she might not say it out loud, but she liked a man with gall enough to put that nasty son of a bitch in his place when necessary. Too many men were allowed to simply be evil because nobody would stand up to them. But there was the matter of what happened. Fox tilted her head towards the RV and Lori understood. They both went inside, followed by Dale.

The black woman that had been bitten, the one they called Jacqui, was stretched out on the bed, clearly in a lot of pain. The other black man, T-dog, was with her, holding her hand. They were talking in hushed voices and Dale only intruded to grab the bag that Fox had brought just as the chaos was starting. Lori was really beginning to look awful, even more so than before. Pale, clammy skin, cloudy exhausted eyes, shaking frame. Dale handed the bag to Fox who began to pick through it, finding the medicine she had and laying it out on the RV's table.

"I'm not sure which ones will be helpful. Hopefully one of you knows." She admitted quietly.

Dale took the bags and started looking through it while Lori leaned against the window of the RV trying to remain calm, or at least that's what it looked like to Fox.

"So what happened?" she finally asked as Dale found the right medicine and fetched her a glass of water. He handed her the first dosage of pills, and Fox hoped there would be enough to cure the infection she had, or at least make a large dent. She watched as Lori took them down before answering.

"Shane provoked Daryl. He lost his temper. Rick and I broke up the fight. Not much else to say." She explained.

"Provoking Daryl isn't exactly a tough thing to do. He's tried to beat the hell out of most of us since he's been here." Dale muttered taking the other available seat with a sigh.

"You and Rick broke it up?" Lori asked in disbelief.

Fox shrugged. "Let's just say I distracted Daryl long enough for Rick to do something."

"What about Andrea, and Amy?" Dale asked. Fox could see the sadness in his face, in his entire body. She didn't know him, but it hurt her to think of the old man having to lose someone he obviously cared about. She wondered if that sense of empathy was all that they had left to keep each other human anymore, or if it was all they had ever had to begin with.

"I don't know. I said to let Andrea sit vigil with Amy, but I doubt Rick or Shane will listen to me. I don't really blame them." She looked up at Lori and despite everything that happened, she smiled. She wasn't even really sure why.

"What's with that look?" the woman asked.

"It's not every day I have the opportunity to redeem myself." She said softly, but she was still smiling, mostly in her eyes. "I know you have suffered losses today. I won't intrude anymore. I just wanted you to know, me stealing from you, it wasn't personal. It was just to survive." She wasn't asking for forgiveness. She didn't feel guilty for surviving, even at someone else's expense, particularly when they had the means to take care of themselves. But she didn't want them to think it was a personal attack on them.

Lori didn't move or speak, just fixed her with an unflinching stare, but there was some kind of understanding. That was about as much as she could have hoped for. She picked up her bag and shrugged it onto her shoulders before heading out. She heard someone following and wasn't surprised to see Dale when she turned around once she was outside the RV.

"Thank you. For standing up for Andrea." He said. His voice was solid but his eyes were downcast. Fox nodded once and turned to go again but felt a very cautious hand on her arm. She looked back at him and saw there was more he wanted to say.

"Maybe I shouldn't be asking this, but would you watch Daryl? I think he might try to leave." He shook his head, as though he couldn't believe what he'd said. Or maybe just didn't want to. "And whether anybody wants to admit it or not, we need him."

Fox's lips twitched upwards again. "He won't go. If he was going to, he would have long before all of this. But I will go to him. I understand where he's at."

"How are you so sure?" Dale questioned. His heavy brows furrowed, his face brimming with curiosity. That was good. She liked that about Dale.

"We're the same." She answered softly before turning on her heel and very cautiously making her way through camp. For the most part she passed unnoticed but just before she cleared the main area Glenn came up to her shoulder.

"Hey. Listen, I really wouldn't mess with Daryl right now. When he gets into moods, he's…dangerous."

She smiled. He was concerned for her. Why she had no idea, but she liked it nonetheless. There was a part of her that wanted to reach and touch him and wipe the sweat away from his brow, maybe even kiss him because he'd been brave today, but she didn't, feeling his skittishness and uncertainty about her.

"I know he is." She answered with a small nod. "I can handle him."

Glenn shifted back and forth as though he wanted to argue, but in the most peaceable way possible. "Are you sure? I mean I wouldn't really want to know what he's capable of."

She tilted her head at him, losing her smile and becoming more calculating. "You sure about that? You might need what he's capable of."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. Daryl's volatile…dangerous…unpredictable."

"He saved your life." She answered him, cutting him off midstream. She remembered very clearly watching the battle from the top of the embankment when it had been Daryl and Glenn fighting for their lives underneath a pack of zombies. Daryl hadn't hesitated after he'd freed himself to save Glenn.

"Well yeah…but…"

"But nothing." She said firmly, re-shouldering her bag. "Let that be enough."

She walked away and this time encountered no more resistance. At first she picked her way through camp, collecting the knives she had thrown, cleaning them and then holstering them in her belt. Eventually she found Daryl sitting on his bike, staring out into the distance to some point in space only he could see. She understood. There were ways to get so lost in your own head that you could drown. Visions of shattered glass, desert highways at night, and diamonds gleaming beneath the unrelenting waves of Georgia sunlight flashed across her mind's eye.

"Didn't I tell you to get the hell away from me?" he asked. There was no apology, thanks, or softness in his voice. She didn't expect there to be. She hadn't come looking for it.

"Can't shake me that easy." She said, laughing just a little. She knew it would make him mad but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

He fixed her with a look that clearly said she could go to hell but she shrugged and took up a post in a tree, the same one she'd been in earlier, waiting for him to make up his mind to stay or to go. Now it was just a fantasy, an idea, and in some ways that made her feel sad. But it was better this way, even if he didn't believe it yet.

"Did Rick send you to babysit me?" he asked. Quieter now, less abrasive. She mused over the change for a moment before answering.

"No. Rick isn't even back yet, at least not that I know of. He's probably still down at the quarry with Andrea."

"Waste of fucking time." Daryl muttered, swinging off his bike and picking up one of the sticks he'd been working on with his knife earlier to make new arrows. He sat down beneath a different tree and began to whittle on it again, taking strips of bark off and smoothing down the shaft of what would be a new weapon to defend life. It pleased her.

"He tortures himself unnecessarily. That's one thing Shane has going for him Rick doesn't." she said, letting one booted fit swing loosely from the tree limb she was resting on.

"You approve of Shane?" The disbelief was clear.

She shrugged. "No, but I'm not fool enough to think I can effect change as far as the relationship between him, Rick, and the group is concerned."

Daryl looked up at her, a mixture of contempt, annoyance, and curiosity written on his face. "Maybe if you offer to sleep with him he'd sing a different tune." He muttered.

She laughed at that. "Oh I'm sure he would. But like I said. Everything I say isn't signed in blood."

He didn't reply, instead taking more bark off the stick. She understood his silence. There was a lot more said in it than what ever could be said with words.

"You could get out of here you know." Daryl said quietly after he began to sharpen the stick he was working on. "I wouldn't tell them where you'd gone."

She shrugged her shoulders. "No. You'd just lead them to me." There was no attempt to be passive about the way she said it.

"What the hell else was I supposed to do? Some unknown creep stealing in and out of our camp taking our stuff, how the hell were we supposed to know you're not dangerous? Or that your alone?" He eyed her with a very steely glare and she looked straight back at him. To his credit, there was no cracking in his gaze, and she felt herself approve of him even more. Not that it really mattered because who was she to him, but there was still some satisfaction there, and she smiled a little, which only made him look confused.

"We're all dangerous. And we're all alone. And yet, we're all helpless, and we're all together. It's the only thing we have going for us as a group." She said. She hopped off the tree and cautiously approached him. He didn't get up and move and she didn't crowd him, but she did crouch down to be more at eye level with him.

"One of your group is dying. And you might not know her, you might not even care. But if you expect these people to bother with your life at all, you might as well try and fake it."

"Did I fucking ask you for what I should do? I never asked them to bother." He growled low in his throat, refusing to meet her eyes and instead focusing intently on the piece of wood he was whittling.

"I know you didn't. But they still did. You're not nearly as selfish as you'd like everybody to think you are. So drop the lone wolf crap and go back. You're a human being. Act like it."

"Fuck off." He muttered. Now he was being oppositional just to irritate her. And to his credit, it was working. He was stubborn and unyielding, and she knew she had a challenge on her hands. That was good. She had nothing better to do.

"Fine. Don't." she answered him, getting up to her feet and walking away back towards camp. They might not want her there, they might even try to tie her up again, but that was fine. She'd handle it if that was the case. As far as Daryl was concerned…Rome wasn't built in a day.

When she arrived the group was gathered. Andrea must have finally consented to move Amy's body because the little blonde girl was laid out next to her carefully dug grave. Andrea must have cleaned her up from the water at the quarry because there was no more blood on her face, and around her neck was a mermaid necklace. It must have been something Andrea wanted to give her. Also laid out beside their graves were who she had learned was Morales, one of his sons, and Jim. She and Jim had only spoken once but he had been relatively neutral towards her. He'd seemed like a decent man, and she was sorry to see he had been killed.

But there were five graves dug. And only four bodies present. She knew what that meant. They were simply waiting until Jacqui died. Andrea was still sitting vigil with her sister, holding her hand and occasionally whispering something. The others were beginning to pull away and gather around where Rick and Shane were standing. Fox noticed that Shane was gingerly dabbing the blood away from his face. She could see the outline of a bruise blooming on the side of his face already, and there were four distinct tears in his jaw and cheek from the impact of Daryl's knuckles. The man sure new how to scrap, and scrap hard.

She kept her distance as the group gathered around Rick. She had no idea what her standing was with them after all of this. Sometimes in the aftermath people had a change of heart. And sometimes it made them worse. But she stayed close to listen.

"We bury our dead and by sundown we leave. We make for Atlanta and the CDC." Rick told them. Fox watched as the sadness, the pain, the burden of his responsibility weighed down on him like an anvil chained to his neck, wrists, and ankles. "I can't say that it will be an easy journey or that there's anything waiting for us. But if someone knows something, it'll be them. We'll scavenge supplies while we're there and hit the road again once we got what we came for."

There was a murmur of consent throughout the group. Fox had the feeling, staring at this sad pack of humanity, that they would have gone along with anything that Rick said, just because he was the only one strong enough to stand up in front of them all and say it.

Just then T-dog and Jacqui emerged from the RV. The frail woman looked incredibly weak, just barely able to take a breath, let alone walk. T-dog had to help her hobble to where Rick was standing.

"I'm ok." Jacqui whispered very softly. "I'm ready."

Fox felt her throat clench. She knew what was going to happen. She had seen it before. Done it before.

People were crying again. Carol and Sophia, even Dale shed a solitary tear. Carl wound his way through the crowd to his age-mate and took her by the hand and led her towards their mothers who were standing together. They pulled the children away and Rick un-holstered his revolver. T-dog leaned in and gently gave Jacqui a kiss on the cheek, and Fox didn't have to know him to know that it was taking every ounce of self control to pull himself away and leave her standing there alone.

"You sure?" Rick asked, his voice very choked, almost unintelligible. Jacqui nodded sharply, folding her arms over her chest at first and then slowly loosing them and letting them hang at her sides, fingers forming into fists. She closed her eyes and actually smiled.

The gunshot was loud, unforgiving, and there was no mistake in Rick's aim. One clean shot through the head. Jacqui's body crumpled and Fox saw T-dog turn away, struggling to keep from crying in front of the others.

"Andrea." Rick said, the name cracking halfway through his throat. "Andrea. Now."

Andrea knelt down by her sister's body, which had already paled considerably, and it wouldn't be long until she came back. Fox couldn't be certain but she thought she saw the younger blonde girl twitch and begin to move a little.

"Amy…Amy, I'm sorry. I love you." Andrea whispered as she pulled out her handgun. The hammer was already pulled back. She lovingly placed the barrel to her sister's temple and squeezed the trigger, her eyes wide open, forever burning the image of her sister's violent end into her memory. Fox understood. She refused to relive how or why in the moment, but she did understand.

When it was over she was the first to move to place the bodies into their graves, starting with Amy, very gently lowering her kin into the earth. The others moved in quickly and soon all that remained of the five fallen were piles of earth. There were no words to say. Fox felt some of the energy begin to dissipate as they all stood in silence, gazing at the graves. Many had devastated looks on their faces, but over time, they slowly eased to resignation. Miranda, and the rest of Morales's family, turned to Rick.

"We thank you for everything you've done for us. And for helping us to bury our dead. But we're not going to Atlanta. We have family down in Alabama, they have their own land. We need to be with them now." Miranda spoke with conviction and more strength than Fox would have originally given her credit for having.

"Are you sure?" Rick asked. "We will not hesitate to look after you and your kids."

Miranda ran her hands over her arms before beckoning her children to her side, gently running her fingers through their hair. "Thank you for everything. But this is what we need to do now."

Rick nodded. "Travel safe." He said. The others in the camp wished them well and goodbye before watching them take one of the vehicles and drive away.

"What about her?" Lori asked, nodding towards where Fox was standing after they began to break up again. The newest addition to this messed up group stood tall, her boots digging into the grass as the sun began to turn golden and the heat finally seemed to break. Sundown was rapidly falling on them, and it was too beautiful for such a bloody, tragic day.

Shane seemed pleased by the change of subject. He slowly wound his way through the crowd to approach Fox. It was all she could do to not clench her knife in her fist in preparation for a fight. She didn't think that Shane would hurt her, especially since everybody was watching, but that didn't mean she wanted to test that theory. She might have distracted Daryl to keep him from completely bashing in his face, but what she had said earlier had been true.

She hadn't done it for him.

"We're grateful for your help." Rick said standing shoulder to shoulder to Shane.

"But you don't trust me." She growled low in her throat.

"We would feel more comfortable if you weren't armed." Shane said bluntly, tilting his head at her, eyeing the belt of knives around her hips that she had recollected after the battle.

"Don't they say never to bring a knife to a gunfight?" she asked. She didn't yield a fraction of her position, even when Rick and Shane stepped closer. "You've all got guns, and I've got knives. I risked my life for you today. I don't want to hurt any of you."

"We know. And we are grateful." Rick stated again. "But this group has been together, just us, for a long time, and you've managed to shake all of us up in one way or another. So unless you give up your weapons, we will stop you from coming with us."

Shane took a step forward and now she couldn't help it; her fingers were around the handle of her largest knife when her entire train of thought was cut off.

"Let her ride with me."

Daryl came down from the rise, pushing his bike with him and lining it up with the other vehicles that were pointed down the hill towards the exit of the quarry. His face was stubborn and as cool as a steel mask, despite the bruising on his cheek from where Shane had struck him. He didn't look any worse for wear, not really. His eyes were impatient like usual but Rick turned to him with a tilted head.

"With you? On your bike? You sure?" he asked.

Daryl stepped closer as the rest of the camp began to fan out again, but only just. "Pretty sure she ain't gonna kill the driver when it's just me stopping her from eating pavement going fifty five miles per hour. Ain't that right, Fox?"

She actually found herself grinning, but it was not entirely innocent. "Never been a fan of trying to digest asphalt." She said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Glenn snicker with laughter.

Rick turned to Daryl and cocked an eyebrow before shrugging his shoulder. "Your call." He said before turning to the rest of the group.

"Move out!" he barked. They all dispersed, heading for the vehicles, but each and every one turned a last look at the only security they had known since the world ended. Fox could guess what was going through their minds. Fear. Uncertainty. Pain at who they were leaving behind. An ever lingering question of where would they go and how would they survive now that they would have to stay mobile, at least for a while. Those weren't what she concerned herself with.

She approached Daryl who was waiting by his bike. He climbed up and gave her a once over with his eyes. They were as steely as the chrome, but like the cool of the metal they brought relief.

"What you grinning at?" he asked as she came up towards him.

"Never thought I'd get to ride at the end of days." She told him. She swung up on the bike and adjusted her feet before wrapping her arms around his midsection. She could feel him flinch a little but when he kicked the bike to life and the engine snarled like a living thing beneath them, he looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"Hold on tight little Fox."

And she would. She wasn't letting go. Not now, and not ever.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Well my lovelies we are back! And you'll be happy to know I survived my finals! Now all that is left is judgement...*cough* I mean final grades. For all of you who are students finishing up your semesters, I wish you good luck and good grades for Christmas. Now, on with the show! _**

**codeblueeyes987**: _I really liked the end of this chapter_

Good, I'm glad. I went through a couple different endings and in the end the one I chose was the one I was least sure about, but I thought it was best. I'm glad it seemed to have worked out.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Really loved the chapter. I would so love to ride with Daryl too ;) haha she got what he had coming, Daryl is right, Shane does nothing but complain and want but he never does it himself. I can't wait to read what happens next, Update Soon!_

I noticed this pattern with Shane when I was re-watching the episodes, so that was part of the reason why I threw that in there. And yes. I would so love to ride with Daryl. That would just be…pretty damn close to heaven I think ;)

**Emberka-2012**: Fox pushes a bit too hard on Daryl. His group? She does not know about his relationship with the group and about what happened between them. He has a right to keep his personal line of behavior with these people. I was surprised at all that he took her on the motorcycle with him.

_She does push hard on him, because like Daryl, she doesn't have a lot of self-control either. And like him, she doesn't always think about the consequences of her actions, so she could be risking her security with the group but she hasn't really thought that far ahead- mostly because she doesn't see herself as a part of them. And he took her with him because for all of his gruff talk and isolation, Daryl isn't cruel. He wouldn't let someone get left behind, even if he didn't really like them, as seen when he was the first to volunteer to find Andrea when the farm was overrun in the show._

**X23 Maximoff**: _Ah the internet is such a wonderful place! I like your explanation of how you write. It shows your dedication to your craft, and how you produce such excellent work! I can tell you really love writing, something we have in common :) you get to express it faaaar more often than I do though hahaha. __And twas another marvelous chapter indeed! The tension between Daryl and Fox on the hill top...oooh it was sizzling! I love the way they butt heads with each other. Fox is a very intriguing character - she isn't tremendously feminine, and seems very...feral is too strong of a word, but I can't think of another one. She can sense the way people operate, all because she watches them much closer than they realize. Or maybe I'm just analyzing too much. And the fight between Daryl and Shane? Beautifully written. I was tensed the whole time, waiting to see who won! I absolutely adore the way you write all the people of the group - you characterize them perfectly, very well done! As always, can't wait to see what happens next, keep up the good work! :) -XM_

Writing is my greatest love, tied right up there with music, so its only natural I throw myself into it as fully as I can =) And yes, the tension between Daryl and Fox continues to mount, and will only increase in the chapters to come, I can assure you that ;) She is feral in a sense and you'll see what I mean by that later on (I just finished writing the chapter talking about her backstory). She's animalistic in that she does sense the way people operate, just like animals can size each other up and know if someone's dominant or if there's a chance to be the alpha dog. Daryl is like that as well, which is why he's smarter than he lets on. I was really surprised when in the show he let on that he knew Shane had killed Otis all along. It definitely made me re-evaluate him. I hope I continue to please you with his and the other's development!

**lady10**:_ This story continues to blow me away. You're mostly keeping the continuity, but makes sense when you add in a character that isn't in the series. You have to shift some stuff around for that new character to make and Amy died because of a Walker attack. In your story, Ed and Amy died in a Walker attack, just not the same one. Creative license. This is an engrossing story and I can't wait for more. _

The story so far is relatively close to the canon plot but soon enough it will diverge dramatically. I have no idea where the actual show is going to go, but I hope that my story pleases and delights all my wonderful readers and reviewers such as yourself =)

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _I adore this sooo much (: I can't wait for the next chapter! Re-reading it was worth it because it literally pulls me in. I love your writing! _

Thanks! I work hard to write something worth reading, because all too often I find myself in bookstores browsing the shelves looking for something to read and finding nothing worth my while. So I always try to write something I would want to read myself =)

**Ms. Ashy**: _Wow, this story so far has taken me for quite a ride. Your writing is beautiful, simplistic, and overall just downright enjoyable to read. You capture the emotions of each character so well, I just love it. At first, however, I was riding upon the coattails of Daryl's emotions and got SO irritated and agitated at "Fox". I could feel his frustrations and anger and it leaked right into me as a reader. I know I'm in the minority here, but I didn't like her at all. She just bugged the living daylights out of me just as she annoyed the crap out of Daryl. Slowly but surely, though you were able to convince me otherwise about her character, especially in this chapter. I am truly starting to enjoy her strength and I look forward to the development of the story and characters in further chapters. :) A pleased reader, Ms. Ashy_

You know that's actually the reaction I expected people to have to Fox. I knew she'd step on people's toes and wrangle them the wrong way, but that's the effect I wanted her to have. And I'm glad you're starting to warm up to her. I was hoping for that effect as well, because even though she's hot headed and can get in people's faces, she actually has a lot of depth to her (or at least I really hope so!) I'm so glad you're looking forward to more, and thanks for writing in!

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Woo! Get 'em Daryl! Yeah when it comes to writing I'm not the greatest but I'm 13 and 14 so like you said I'll get better. I hate Shane so much so yay beat him up Daryl! I find Fox so fascinating and actually looks like me quiet a bit I don't have blood red hair but my hair is naturally like a dark red its weird cause its not ginger its more of a dark scarlet. I'm rambling but her hair made me think did you base Fox after anybody? Until next time. XoXoXoKat_

Haha, yeah, I was really really hoping there would be a proper beat down between Daryl and Shane in the show, but sadly, not so much. I don't hate Shane exactly, I feel sorry for him. I don't think he's pathologically evil just…fanatical, I guess is the best word. Anyway, Fox, is loosely based off myself actually, like a more extreme version. Her physical inspiration came from a picture I found online looking for different color hair dyes :) I was looking through pics because I dye my hair constantly and like to know what the dye looks like before I use it.

* * *

Letting her ride on his bike wasn't something he had planned on, but whether he liked it or not, she was attached to him. He didn't like it, the last thing he needed was to have a ball and chain. Merle would have smacked him so hard. None of the men in his family had set much store by taking care of women, and his mother had been so drunk and smoked out that she hadn't noticed. Not that he really thought Fox needed to be taken care of. She'd gone well out of her way to prove that she didn't need anybody looking after her. He tried to tell himself that Fox was just another person, a weird, annoying, aggravating person that he just had to deal with. And he could lie to everybody else and say that she meant nothing to him, but he could taste the lie in the back of his throat. He just wasn't sure exactly what she meant to him, and he didn't care for that feeling so much either.

Intervening on her behalf in front of Rick wasn't entirely out of impulse. No one should have to walk around in this world without protection, and even though she had lethal aim and skill with her knives, they still weren't as dangerous as a gun. He was surprised that she hadn't even asked for a gun. He wondered if it was because she didn't think she had a chance at getting one, or if she didn't know how to shoot.

As the convoy rolled down the hill and towards the highway, there was a small bit of relief stealing into him. He was glad to be gone from the quarry; there were too many bad memories in that place. That was where they'd first run when the world had gone to shit. He'd known it was never a permanent place. It was too small and lacked the fortifications they would need if they intended to make a real life there. Lingering there had felt like clinging to the past, to some security blanket. They'd been able to see the smoldering ruins of Atlanta from camp, and it was just a constant reminder that nothing would ever be the same again. It was also the place he'd been forced to return to when he came back from the city without Merle. His pride stung at that thought, and he unconsciously squeezed the throttle harder. The bike shot forward and Fox clutched his abdomen in surprise. He forced himself not to flinch to help keep the balance on the bike stable. He eased off the throttle and she relaxed again.

The moon was already rising over the tops of the trees by the time they stopped at the little town they'd found at the base of the mountain. When they'd been first fleeing Atlanta they had driven right past due to the Walkers crawling everywhere but now they'd all drifted away. They parked their convoy along the side of the road and already his heart was beating faster due to the sight of a lone geek staggering towards them from the middle of the street. Fox climbed off the bike unsheathing one of her smaller knives as she did so and without hesitation flung it. The metal burned with silver fire as it turned end over end before burying itself into the Walker's skull, dropping it before it had a time to even growl as it saw them coming.

"Jesus Christ." Glenn whispered as his shoulders hunched from the surprise of Fox's throw.

"Did you want me to wait until it had started trying to eat your face?" she questioned. She went forward and stepped on the Walker's shoulder, jerking the knife out of its skull and pulling out a piece of cloth from her pocket to wipe the blade clean before holstering it again.

"Ok, nobody make any sudden movements. There's a warehouse half a block from here we can stay. Glenn, you've been there before, take the lead." Rick warned. His revolver was drawn and Daryl double-checked his crossbow was loaded and ready to go before following after them.

The little Asian kid quickly stole through the streets, Shane following close to him, almost at his shoulder. His handgun was in his drawn already and every once and a while he would chance a look at Daryl and Daryl would stare straight back. It was clear that their dispute wasn't over yet. He didn't want to come to more blows, because he was sure Rick would side with Shane if that was the case, but he wasn't going to let that jackass walk all over him. Merle hadn't raised a bitch. Fox stayed close to Daryl but not in a crowding way. She kept her eyes peeled, checking every sound, her grip on the knife firm but not white knuckle. Her blood red hair turned to inky blackness as the moonlight became thicker due to the receding cloud cover. She stalked like a predator and once again he had to wonder if he looked that dangerous when he was hunting.

"Right there." Glenn whispered as they came around a corner and were faced with the warehouse. All of its windows were in tact and there appeared to be no Walkers at the door which was cracked open. The tension began to coil through everybody's veins as they crept closer.

"Everybody who's not armed, stay here. Everybody who is, with me, now. Flashlights on, don't shoot unless necessary." Rick ordered. Most of the women fell back towards the street while everyone else moved up, including Fox. Rick took point and very slowly used his foot to nudged the door open wider. Shane raised his gun and Daryl didn't miss the way that Rick gave him a disapproving look, but Shane didn't even seem to notice.

They listened carefully and with a sickening feeling of disappointment and something that might have been fear, he could hear the hiss-growls of Walkers. He kept his grip tight on his crossbow hoping he didn't have to go for his gun. Bullets were loud and messy. Hopefully it was just a few inside.

"Back up!" Rick hissed, ushering everybody several paces back as the door continued to swing open.

"Oh shit…" Shane's voice was full of bad tasting anticipation as at least twenty Walker's heads began to become visible, their shambling bodies starting towards them. They had enough bullets to take them on, but that much gunfire could draw even more towards them.

"Call it Rick." Daryl growled, his finger literally itching to squeeze the trigger on his bow and then grab for his gun.

But Rick was too slow, at least for Fox's liking. She leapt forward and unsheathed her largest knife, bashing in the skull of one with the blade and flinging it away. The rest converged on her, a few stragglers moving towards the others that were skittering back like frightened mice.

"Clear the inside! I got this!" Fox called. Her eyes were dancing like silver tinged emeralds and she was actually grinning as she faced the monstrosities. Another lunged for her and she spun her blade in her fingers, whacking the head clean from its neck. It rolled like a sick soccer ball down the street, teeth still gnashing, but for the most part it was now harmless. Confusion rolled through Daryl as he tried to comprehend how she could not at least feel a tinge of fear about running straight towards the monsters. She treated them like they weren't even dangerous, like they were just target practice. He shook himself back to the present moment when he heard Rick's voice.

"T-dog, Andrea, with her! Glenn, Shane, Dale, Daryl, with me!" the sheriff barked and they all headed inside. Flashlights glowed like white lazar beams in the intense darkness of the warehouse as Daryl continued to hear the carnage being wrecked in the street outside. He swore to God he could actually hear wild, exhilarated laughter coming from one crazy red-head but then he moved too deep inside and it was lost.

"Draw them out." Rick hissed as they kept their backs pressed against one wall, checking their flanks to make sure it was clear before turning to the massive dark space in front of them.

Daryl whistled loud and clear. It wasn't long until they could hear the wet, torn throat breathing and shuffling of mangled feet. Flashlights revealed half eaten faces, eyeballs hanging out of sockets, gnashing black teeth and dried blood crusting on their jaws and necks. They all stared hungrily at the sight of fresh food and began to shuffle and drag themselves forward, outstretched hands reaching out greedily.

"Come on, Rick, we've got bullets, let's use them!"

It was Shane that spoke, but Daryl didn't hesitate. He shot with his bow watching as the arrow went straight and true and impaled the closest Walker right between the eyes. He swung the bow around his body and pulled his gun out, cocking the hammer back waiting for the word from Rick while Glenn kept the flashlight aimed on the oncoming group, the light visibly trembling thanks to the hand holding it.

"There's about ten." Dale panted. He was a little afraid, Daryl could see it in his face, but he wasn't surprised. He didn't hold it against him. He had lost something today, something he'd been living for. Now it could be his turn.

It could be any of their turns.

"What you slow asses waiting for?"

Daryl spun to see Fox kicking open the door to the warehouse and in behind her came T-dog and Andrea. She didn't wait to see how many assailants there might have been, didn't wait to see what else might have been inside. She just plunged straight for the group of Walkers, throwing one knife and then using her largest one to lop off another head while T-dog ran forward and began to bash in skulls with his baseball bat.

Not one to be left out, Daryl ran up and used the butt of his gun to smash in the nose of one Walker, kicking it away. He'd been hoping to drive a splinter of bone into its brain to kill it, but the thing kept coming. With a wild hissing growl it sank its bony fingers deep into the meat of his arm, trying to hold him still to get a bite. He gave a wordless, furious, cry and kicked it away, completely shattering the kneecap and swinging his free hand around and struck it in the side of the head with the muzzle of the gun. This time bone crushed and blood leaked from beneath the gun and the creature dropped. Daryl leapt back to avoid the clenching grab of another Walker, lunging back and kicking it, getting in a good knock to its jaw. The head actually spun, the bones of the neck breaking but it didn't stop coming. Head twisted over, arms stretched out, still letting out wet snarls, it came for him. He picked up a chunk of brick that had been knocked away from the warehouse wall and slammed it straight into the monster's skull, causing it to die for the final time.

The others fanned out and began taking more of the Walkers down. It didn't take long before all that was left were mangled bodies and bits of brain streaking the floor and their various weapons. When there was silence at last Fox scraped her boots against the concrete floor of the warehouse and started going to find the skulls that she had cut free of their necks, making sure to stab the blade straight through the brain. T-dog and Dale started working to drag the bodies outside while Rick motioned for everyone else to come inside.

The warehouse turned out to be full of half empty boxes and shipping containers. The air smelled faintly of wheat and cotton and Daryl guessed that at one time it had housed some of the locally grown agricultural products. They picked through some, trying to find anything of use but there was nothing worth weighing themselves down with. They built a fire in one of the corners, the closest to the door, and everybody slowly spread out, trying to recover from the day's events. Daryl, as per usual, sat away from them, especially when Shane gave him a ruthless glare and then took a seat next to Lori and Carl. Rick sat down on the other side, seeming oblivious to the possessive body language that was rolling off of Shane in waves.

He made his own personal fire in another corner and at first he thought he might actually get some peace and quiet, but then just like every night for the past week, Fox came to mess with him.

"Do you mind?" she asked softly. That was a surprise. He expected that she would just intrude on him and not even bother to ask.

"No." It wasn't entirely true, he had hoped to try and unwind with only the sound of the fire to keep him company, but he had no real reason to tell her to go away. And if he was completely honest, he liked the way her hair burned in the firelight, the way the shadows flitted across her skin, and the way her green eyes were tinged with gold. It reminded him of the animal that he had named her after, but even deeper than that, it reminded him of the wilds of the night. Whenever he would hunt at night, he would feel that whole different world press in on him and rile up the animal that he knew lurked down inside everybody. He was convinced that what made people different was how close that animal was to the surface of someone's skin. His wasn't all that far down, and neither was hers, and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't like that. When he'd been hunting her in the woods, it had almost been like a competition between the two, and now that he had finally caught her, he liked being able to lay his eyes on her. It made him feel more at ease.

"How'd you learn to fight like that?" he asked as she sat down across from him and stared directly into the flames. At his question she looked up, but it was almost like she was looking past him.

"My mom and I lived in a lot of sketchy places growing up. She always kept a knife on her for protection. I saw a movie with knife throwing in it and decided to take up a hobby. I never knew I'd actually need it one day." She wouldn't look him in the face as she spoke.

He tilted his head at her, not quite believing her story. "I've never seen anyone actually run towards Walkers before."

She shrugged. "The best defense is a good offense."

"You sound like Shane." He muttered a flare of unsettling emotion go through him. He didn't like it and was beginning to regret not rebuffing her.

"Shane's right about a lot of things." She answered. She picked up a piece of straw that had blown its way towards their corner and started picking at it with her fingers. "It's like the knife." She continued, tossing the straw into the fire unsheathing one of them and holding it towards the light so the orange flames could bounce off the metal. He watched her twirl it lightly in her fingers, somehow mesmerized by the motion. "They all do basically the same thing, but some people prefer one over the other. People are no different. Shane's good at what he does. So is Rick. So are you. You're all suited to this world. The only difference is Shane didn't come with a holster."

He scraped his foot against the ground in acknowledgement. "You really are strange." He commented.

She chuckled a little bit, smiling almost sadly. "No news flash there." She said, throwing his words back at him, but it wasn't unkindly.

"How'd you find them?" she asked. He had wondered when she would start trying to get information out of him. He hadn't expected it to be tonight for some reason, but why wouldn't it be? She wasn't tied up anymore; he couldn't just walk away from her.

"When shit hit the fan, Merle wanted to check out Atlanta. The radio kept saying it was a safe-zone. I told him he was crazy, but I wasn't about to let him get himself killed. We were about to cross the highway when we saw Shane and the others. After we saw the fires in the city, Merle thought staying with others might be better than going alone."

"You would have kept going?"

He rolled his eyes at the obviousness of the answer. "I can take care of myself. So can Merle. He's just…different from me." He couldn't really explain why Merle had wanted to stay with Shane's group. It hadn't made any sense to him at the time. Then again, Merle had always been more social than he had, but for more nefarious purposes.

"Was he killed?" Her voice was soft, as though she were sorry but didn't know how to say it.

"Dunno. He went on a supply run with Morales, T-dog, and some of the others into Atlanta and never came back. Rick was there. He cuffed him to a roof." He snapped a stick he'd been rolling unconsciously between his fingers.

"Why?" Now there was curiosity and a slight edge to her. Her eyes gleamed in the firelight as he stared back, wondering whether he could stand to talk about what had happened to his brother, mostly because he was conflicted about the implications. Because there was a small part of him, and it was getting bigger everyday, that was beginning to believe what Rick had done was the right thing. Stacked against that was the fact Merle was his only kin, and the only one who had ever even come close to looking out for him. The two sides were still locked in an impasse. He wasn't looking forward to the day he was going to have to base a decision on one side or the other.

"Merle doesn't play nice with others. Especially not blacks. Or Mexicans. Or anybody that sticks up for them. Rick never said exactly what happened, but I can fill in the blanks. The group was pinned down while Merle was still cuffed and it was a now-or-never escape. They ran for it and left my brother behind." There was no emotion in his voice. It was just the facts.

"I'm sorry." She murmured quietly. She did sound sorry, but he could hear the undercurrent of pricked curiosity and something that sounded like resentment.

"You'd be the first." He said, throwing one of the pieces of stick into the fire. "Me, Rick, Glenn, and T-dog went back into Atlanta to get him. T-dog had dropped the key down a drain but he chained the door to the roof to stop the geeks from getting at him. But Merle…Merle doesn't do anything 'cept on his own terms. Hell, maybe his brain was fried by the sun. By the time we got there, he was gone. Sliced off his own hand with a hacksaw. We followed the blood trail back to the van that had our supplies that we'd scavenged and by the time we got there, the van was gone." He was silent for a moment, staring deep into the fire, remembering so many nights when it was just him and Merle, his body stinging because of whatever fight or trouble he'd gotten himself into, a kind of silent understanding between them. There had never been any sympathy or pity for him on Merle's part, but a breathing body with the same blood in their veins as his sitting next to him had been enough. No matter what anybody said, Merle was his brother, and he would not forget that.

Fox twitched uncomfortably. "That's…that's messed up." She said, running her hands over her arms as though she were cold.

"If you hadn't noticed, the world's messed up." He muttered. He refused to look her in the eye, but he did steal a glance at her when she had been staring into the fire for a long time.

"I don't know what happened to my mother. Or my sister." She said. The words were laced with pain and hollow disappointment.

"Your dad run out on you too?" When she tilted her head curiously at him, as if she hadn't expected him to make that jump, he continued. "Why else would your mom have a knife to protect herself?"

Her eyes sparked just like the dancing flickers of the fire between them. Her lips twitched but there was no mirth in her expression.

"Even if I'd had a father, my mother would have never stood to be protected. Mom always did things her way. No matter what. No one ever told her what to do, and no one ever did for her what she could do for herself." She paused with a slight smile on her face. "My mom wasn't interested in settling down or having a relationship. She wanted to have a kid, so she found someone willing and got knocked up."

He couldn't stop himself when his eyebrows shot up towards his hair. "Damn." He said keeping his voice down so the others didn't hear. She chuckled a little and smirked at him for some strange reason.

"Mom was good at getting that reaction from people." She said. She nudged the ground with her booted foot and sighed a little, letting her cheek rest against her raised knee, her hair tumbling down her neck and chest. She looked small and almost vulnerable like that and he wondered to himself how old she was. She looked twenty one tops, but in this day and age, you never could tell. But he knew better than to think she was vulnerable. He'd seen the way she could fight, and he'd felt her ruthlessness first hand if she wanted something bad enough. She could take care of herself.

"You're good at it too." He said honestly.

She looked at him and smirked, loosening her body again. She let her head loll on her neck for a moment, letting her hair tumble down her back before raising her head and looking at him. There was an odd look that settled over her, like she was a predator, eyeing up a really tasty, unaware piece of prey. It made him nervous, and he didn't get nervous easily.

"What?" he demanded.

She shook her head, easing her expression and smiling more genuinely now. "Nothing." She said before stretching out by the fire and gazing up at the dark ceiling, one foot flat on the floor, the other foot propped up on her knee. She seemed content to sleep like that and there was nothing he could really do to make her leave. He could have told her to get lost, but why? She wasn't hurting him.

"Thank you." She said quietly. She shifted slightly on the ground to look at him but not bothering to sit up.

"For what?" he asked. He could have used a drink right about now but that was a luxury he hadn't had in weeks.

"For letting me ride with you." She said. Now she did sit up and look at him over the top of the flames. "I know I pissed you off earlier. And I think you still are, and I'm not under any delusion as to the reason why. So thank you. For not leaving me to die back there." She stretched back out again, resting on her back and staring up at the ceiling of the warehouse. He noted that there was no apology in her voice, but there was gratitude, and it was sincere. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

He glanced at her from over the low burning coals which had run out of fuel by this point and had simmered down to mostly embers. He wanted to say something but every time he tried the words died in his throat. He decided just to let it go. If she had wanted more from him, she would have asked.

Sleep wasn't fitful that night. Not from bad dreams but from being constantly woken by the sound of every little noise. Most of them came from other members of camp. Once or twice a Walker was shuffling around outside but they had long since closed the doors and nothing had tried to get in yet. It was just before dawn when he saw Rick getting up from where he'd been curled around Lori, Carl within an arm's reach.

When Daryl had worked as many of the kinks out of his back as possible (involving several loud pops and cracks from his spine) he reached over and nudged Fox to wake her. Her eyes snapped open and she began to writhe on the ground slowly, stretching her limbs and arching her back, letting her hair fall everywhere, coated in a thin film of dust from the warehouse floor.

"What time is it?" she asked, her husky voice even raspier than usual.

"Got a date?" he asked sarcastically. Damn what he wouldn't have given for some coffee. Or hell, cold water would have been fine too.

"Shut up." She growled as she rubbed as much of the crusty sleep out of her eyes as possible. He watched her tongue flick from behind her teeth and over the silver ring on the side of her lip. She let out a huge yawn and then rolled over, moving up to her knees, bending her back in a steep arch before finally getting to her feet.

Everybody else was up and moving as well. Slowly loosening their joints and shaking off the warm embrace of sleep. They'd be happy for the cool air soon enough though, because it would only last until sunup.

"Everybody gather 'round." Rick said calling everyone in close. There weren't many of them and who remained were scarred, filthy, and in pain. They were a sad sorry representation of humanity, but if they were what was left, then they didn't have much choice but to exist. Daryl and Fox came over to the main group but stood a little ways apart.

"We'll reach Atlanta by eight or nine in the morning depending on how much clutter there is on the highway. Once we get there, we need a game plan for how to get into the CDC, and also a likely place to scavenge supplies incase there's nothing there. Glenn, you know the area pretty well, what's our best way in and out?" He turned to the Asian boy who looked uncomfortable with having so many eyes on him first thing in the morning. He glanced at everyone before down at his feet and then back up to Rick.

"The CDC is on a big chunk of land. Fancy glass front part but in the back it looks like a factory. There's places for Walkers to hide everywhere. And I don't know if the military might have done anything to the building when everything went to hell."

"What's our best way in?" Rick was terse but not threatening.

"I'd say the front door. But for what we're looking for, we might want to start with the labs, which are in the back." He picked up a piece of rock and started scraping a rough drawing on the ground. Daryl watched as a crude layout emerged.

"Here's the front." He said, indicating with the rock in his hand. "I've been to the back once. Just to the door- lab techs wanted pizza." He cracked a thin smile at the memory but then returned to the task at hand. "The lab door is over here. Completely around the main building. I know there is some kind of security there, but with the grid being down, who knows if it still works. I'd say we better pack some firepower to make sure we get in. The CDC has a lot of staff, and if they're all geeks now…that's bad for us."

"Rick…" Lori started quietly. "I don't think this is such a good idea."

"They've got to know something. And we need to know what it is. The world's ended, and if we don't figure out what to do, it will take us with it. I'm not gonna let that happen." He insisted. Shane stood shoulder to shoulder with him and though he looked less certain, he didn't argue.

"What about supplies? Once we get out of the CDC, we're probably going to need to bolt." Andrea said. It was the first time she'd spoken to anybody else since her sister had died. She didn't sound like herself, but who did at this point? Who knew who they were anymore anyway. Did it really matter?

"Glenn?" Rick asked, turning back to the Asian kid.

"The CDC is on its own complex. They may have things inside but I wouldn't count on it." He answered. He ran his fingers through his tangled hair before staring back down at the drawing on the floor.

"What if we split up? Some of us go to get supplies and some of us go to the CDC? We meet back at a designated time and get out?" Lori asked. She looked to Rick of course but her eyes also drifted towards Shane.

"That's not a bad idea." Shane said with a slight tilt of his head now catching Rick's eye.

"I don't like the idea of splitting the group up. But we may have to." Dale agreed. "There's just too much ground to cover otherwise."

"How far is the CDC from where we left Atlanta on our last supply run? When we went back for Merle?" Rick asked, turning back to Glenn.

"It's a ways. The CDC is isolated away from most of the city. At least thirty minutes by car, and that's if the roads are clear."

Rick rubbed the back of his head feeling the stress and pressure about what decision to make. Daryl could sympathize. He wouldn't want to make the choices that could get people killed. Fox however looked itching to speak and finally couldn't take it anymore.

"What if we send scouts? One or two people to the CDC and maybe two or three others for supplies. Get in, get out, and we'll know if its safe to approach the CDC that way. And if it isn't, we've got what we need to get the hell out, at least for a little while."

Glenn's eyes brightened. "That's not bad. When I would make runs by myself into Atlanta it was easier to get in and out. No offense, but the bigger the group, the more shit that goes wrong."

"We don't have enough radios to go around though. How would we stay in contact with the others?" Shane asked. His hands were on his hips as he stood now looking at everyone else.

"Someone's going to have to sacrifice. I think the two groups that go into the city should have the radios. Base camp will just have to wait for them to come back." Rick answered.

"And if they don't?" Andrea asked. Now her voice was cracking. "What happens if you don't come back?" There was a severe, heavy silence that followed her words, and everyone understood what it meant. They wouldn't risk more members of the group to retrieve anyone in Atlanta. It was just too dangerous.

"Glenn how long would it take you to get in and out of the city? With supplies?" Rick asked.

"Depends on how much I was bringing back. If I was bringing enough for the week it could take a few hours to all day. What I would have to do is bring several bags with me and when one bag was full, sneak back out and put it in the vehicle, and then go back into the city for more. It takes time, but it ensures that even if shit goes to hell, I at least can bring back something. Getting around the geeks is all about timing." He explained.

"Ok then. Now we need volunteers, some to go to the CDC and some for supplies. And for the ones that go for supplies, Glenn is the leader. He calls the shots." Rick shot him an approving look and Glenn almost squirmed with embarrassment. "He saved my ass the last time I was in Atlanta, and he helped get the rest of us out. He knows what he's doing." Rick turned to the rest. "Show of hands for the CDC run."

Shane raised his hand, as did Andrea and T-dog. Rick nodded. "Alright then. Show of hands for the supplies, besides Glenn of course."

Daryl raised his hand. It wasn't that he really wanted to go into an entire city full of Walkers, but this might be his last chance to try and find his brother. Who knew where they would go after this. It didn't sound like they would be coming back to Atlanta, at least not unless there was absolutely nothing left anywhere else.

Fox raised hers as well which surprised him. Why the hell would she want to risk her neck for a group of people who had kept her tied up as a prisoner? Her expression wasn't fearful though and Rick shrugged his shoulders.

"So be it. And I'm going with the group that goes to the CDC as well. Dale your in charge until I get back." He turned to Lori and pulled her deep into an embrace while Shane looked on and didn't even try to hide the jealousy in his gaze. Daryl turned away before Shane could say anything and looked at Fox who was also watching him intently. He stepped out the door and kept his crossbow at the ready, also comforted by the gun tucked into his belt. The air was still cool and the sun was just beginning to rise, tinting the treetops with amber light while the brightest of the stars still glimmered off to the west in a blue violet background.

Fox followed him outside but walked past him. She tilted her head up to the rising sun and breathed deep, letting her eyes close. The smell of death was there, but beneath it was the taste of a typical southern summer morning, damp, cool, and metallic. He watched as the sun fell on her hair and the scarlet strands burned crimson.

"You ready for this?" Daryl asked her quietly.

She lowered her head and turned back to face him. She was smiling for some reason, all the way from her lips to her eyes and it occurred to him he might not have ever seen something quite so beautiful in and amongst the pain and creeping despair of their situation. He'd never been one to be softhearted or sentimental, but that look on her face made him want to know what might else be going on behind her eyes.

"Are you?" she countered before turning away and facing the sun again.

He turned towards her again and this time stepped closer. She lowered her gaze and looked him in the eye. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

She smiled, mostly in her eyes. "I don't think that's what you meant to ask me." She said to him.

He realized she was right. That wasn't what he'd meant. He had half of what he really meant to ask on his tongue when she beat him to it.

"Why am I helping your group? Because. No one came to help me and mine. And they're dead now." Her smile died and for the first time he saw true sorrow grace her face. Only for a moment, as though she'd fumbled withs something in her hands and had managed to catch it before it shattered. Her face actually managed to brighten as she turned towards the sun. Her eyes were like green diamonds and she gave him another knowing smile that made his heart do strange things in his chest. "And I wouldn't want that to happen to anybody else."

"You don't even know us." He said softly. He could hear footsteps and he knew that they wouldn't be able to talk alone for a while at least. Or maybe ever again if things went wrong, which it could, he knew that all too well.

"I don't have to know you to know I wouldn't want to see anybody else killed." She answered him. "Just like I didn't have to know you to stop you from really hurting Shane."

"'Bout that. Keep that to yourself." He reminded her.

She nodded. "Fair enough."

Glenn came up towards them carrying two empty back packs, one of which he handed to Daryl and one he kept for himself. Fox had already emptied hers out and had it on her shoulders.

"Bike or car?" Daryl asked the Asian boy as they headed into the street.

"You take the bike and I'll drive one of the vehicles. The bike can go places the vehicle can't, we might need that, depending on what we find."

Daryl nodded and he glanced at Fox. "You coming with me or him?"

She grinned broadly, probably the biggest smile he'd seen since the dead crawled out of their graves and began to eat the living. It was like he'd offered her the keys to the pearly gates of heaven. She literally ran towards the motorcycle while Glenn peeled off to take one of the trucks. And when she climbed up behind him and he kicked the engine to life and felt her squeeze his midsection, he smiled too, the first time in a long time.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Bonjour my lovelies! I made it in one piece to Paris! 17 hours of flight time and I-lost-count of how many time zone changes later, I'm here! And because I have a minute to catch my breath, I figure I'd send this along to you. Enjoy!_**

**jalenreedmua**: _This story makes me wish there was a character like Fox in the show._

I kind of had that feeling too, which is part of the reason I wanted to have an OC like her in my own Walking Dead story :)

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Loved the last two chapters! As always!_

Yay! I hope I continue to hold such enthusiasm

**Emberka-2012**: _Something I did not like the way Shane looks at Daryl. Maybe its good that they not went by the whole group to the CDC._

It is a good thing. It wouldn't have ended well, because this is where my plot starts to diverge from the canon.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _Ahh I love this (: That's a really good way to write, write what you would want to read. I can't wait until the next chapter_

I try to use that standard with everything I do in my life. If I wouldn't want it presented to me, then I try not to present the same to someone else and vice versa. Seems to be working out well if I do say so myself, lol ;)

**FanFicGir10**:_ Loved Loved Loved Their Talk :) Loved that both love to ride on Daryl's motorcycle together. Update soon!_

There shall be plenty more talks between the two of them to come ;)

**X23 Maximoff**: _Another brilliant chapter! I really love the way you have Fox and Daryl interact. Both of them are such guarded people, their conversations are like dances - a little give, a little take. But never too much. I love it. I also really like how you're giving Glenn a lot of shine time. He's such an integral character, and so many people forget about him with writing! And the tension with Shane and...well, everyone, is amazing. The emotions are palpable, and I like the way you're writing his slow downward spiral of sanity. Fantastic! And the part about the animal inside everyone, where it just matters how close to the surface it is? Oh my lanta! So great! People do underestimate Daryl's intelligence, so I really like the way you portray him - observant, calculating. He knows soooo much more than he lets on. It's all part of his master plan. Awesome chapter! Please update soon! -XM_

Glenn is by far my favorite character right after Daryl. He's such an unusual person to survive, but it works for him and makes him unique. Ahhh yes, Shane…you'll just have to wait and see what happens as far as he's concerned as the plot really starts to thicken in the next few chapters. And yes, the animal that's inside all of us. I absolutely love stories that play on this idea (Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Clause and the Strange Angels series by Lili St. Crow are some of my favorites that do this) and since neither Daryl nor Fox really have much of a filter so to speak, it's only natural that their's lurks just beneath the skin. But we'll see how everything evolves as the story moves forward, eh? ;) Keep writing in such nice long lovely reviews, it really makes my day =D

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Glenn pulled over on a set of train tracks maybe half a mile out of the city. The same place where they'd left their van the first time when they went looking for Merle. He was nervous about leaving his bike here unattended but there wasn't much choice. He locked it up tight and then padded quietly to where the van had last been parked. The ground showed signs of disturbance, rocks kicked up and a wide track of tire chewed grasses that were poking through the ground. It led back the way they'd come- out of the city.

"Where are you?" Daryl whispered as he bent down to the ground and let his fingers gently rest against the sunbaked earth. Where would Merle have gone? Their original home had been overrun by the time they'd left, surely he wouldn't have thought to go back there, would he have? If his brain had been deluded by sunstroke and blood loss, he might have. Daryl certainly hoped that wasn't what had happened, he'd be killed for sure. But for now, all he had to go on was his brother had made it out of Atlanta alive and that was it. His stomach clenched painfully but when Glenn got his attention out of the corner of his eye, he turned away.

"Alright, here's how this works. Half a mile is when the buildings of the city start getting close together, and that's also where the geeks will be. Daryl, do you remember the ally we were in when the vatos took me hostage?"

The roughneck nodded and he caught a quirked eyebrow from Fox but he didn't bother to explain.

"If we get separated, we meet back at that ally. It should still be barricaded and that will stop most of the geeks from getting through. Don't go any further into the streets than you have to. Stay low, move quietly, do not under any circumstances fire your gun unless you can make a dash for safety and that's your only option. We need three things. Gasoline, food, and water. I've been getting gasoline from an abandoned parking lot, maybe five blocks away from the ally. Lot of trucks and cars still there, I'd only drained three or four before our last run. The food and water is in the opposite direction. The nearest and best bet will be six blocks to the east, there's a grocery store there. The last time I was there, most of the stuff was still in the store. When shit hit the fan people didn't even have enough time to get supplies before the city was abandoned."

"We have a whole convoy of vehicles that need to be refueled, not to mention the RV. One person won't be able to carry all that gasoline." Fox reasoned quietly. Glenn nodded and then looked cautiously at Daryl.

"She's right. It's going to take all of us to get the gasoline, but honestly, that's the most risky part. I say we go for the food and water first, and then the gas, because we can travel by foot if absolutely necessary. We can't eat fuel." They all waited for him to continue and he became even more jittery if that was possible. "We're gonna end up making a lot of noise getting the gas. I have dozens of containers in the back of the truck to hold it, but it'll take time to fill them all, and I'll need the truck actually in the parking lot if we're going to have chance of getting it back out of the city. Time is all they need to find us. Two of us will get gasoline while one distracts the geeks."

"Bait." Fox said softly.

Glenn nodded, the color rapidly draining out of his face. "Yeah…basically. Now I'm not Rick, I'm not going to order one of you to do that job. Frankly I think you both could kill me if I tried." He swallowed heavily and Daryl, to his credit, remained expressionless to not freak the kid out, but it was still amusing. Fox seemed to think so to, but he could only see it in her eyes.

"I'll play bait. I'm fast and light on my feet and I know the city. How long will you need?" Fox sounded resolute and determined that she do this. Daryl believed what she said about her skills but the thought of her drawing away dozens, maybe even hundreds of Walkers was unsettling to him.

"Hopefully no more than twenty or thirty minutes. I know it's a long time…" Glenn looked almost like he might be sick from so much anxiety. Daryl didn't really blame him. The last time they'd been here, they had nearly been killed, and not just by Walkers. He just hoped the kid didn't go to pieces in the middle of a firefight if it came to that.

"I can buy you that. But if we need to get the food and water first, then we should go. Before it gets any hotter and our live smell becomes more potent."

Glenn nodded and Daryl was surprised by how much she acted like a hunter. What else about this punk girl did he not know? It occurred him he didn't know very much, and maybe more startlingly that he wanted to know more. Daryl was usually content to just let people alone and be by himself. Other people weren't necessary. She was different. She made him want to know more, and he wasn't too sure he liked that.

They started off on foot shouldering empty backpacks. They passed by the tracks and the train station and that was when they began to creep. When they came to the next main street they paused as Walkers were hissing and growling in their path, staggering and shuffling randomly. They paused around their last Walker free corner and Glenn looked ready to pass out from anxiety alone. He clutched the shotgun he'd brought with him to his chest and leaned his head against the brick wall. "Fuck my fucking life." He whimpered before he beckoned his companions to follow them, creeping low to the ground right up against the wall behind cars that were still parked on the street. They hurried, moving as swift and lightly as they could, ducking and pausing when there was a Walker too close for comfort in their way.

"How much further?" Daryl hissed after they'd gone about a block and half. Every nerve ending was on fire, every hair was standing up. The smell of rot and death was so thick it made him want to puke every time he inhaled and even Fox's perfume wasn't enough to drown it out. They were ducked behind a parked truck but from underneath they could see hundreds of shuffling feet.

"Gotta cross a street and then go east. It wasn't so crowded last time I was there, maybe the geeks have left it alone." He whispered, almost to himself. He touched Fox by the shoulder and pointed directly across the truck to where someone had graciously parked a semi in front of an ally, blocking the Walker's access to it.

"That's the ally I was talking about earlier. In there is a door that leads to a department store's stock room. The front room is exposed but the stock room and the roof is secure. If you have to get away in a hurry, that's not a bad place."

Fox nodded and then looked ahead at the crossing they were going to have to do. Atlanta was an old city, and only loosely built on a grid system. There might be a way to use that to her advantage. They peeked over the truck they were hiding behind, seeing about thirty Walkers in their way. Daryl already had his finger on the trigger of his bow, sweat beading across his face. Glenn wasn't doing much better but they were going to have to move soon because the Walkers were starting to turn towards them.

"Six blocks east you said?" she asked in a hissing whisper.

"Yeah. It's a big parking lot and building, can't miss it." Glenn hissed.

"Ok, head that way. I'll meet you. I'll draw the zombies off and give you time to run." She eased herself into a crouch and Daryl actually grabbed her by the wrist. She hissed, the wound there still tender and he eased his grip.

"Are you crazy? You have no idea how many of those things are out there? You could get killed!" he growled, low and deep in his throat. He couldn't believe she was going to do this. She either had a death wish of epic proportions, or she really was just out of her mind, and it was a hung jury on which one it was.

She knelt back down and shrugged off her bag, unzipping it and pulling out the gallon size bags of medicine. She turned and divided them between Daryl and Glenn, shoving them into their bags and zipping them up before redoing her own and sliding it on her shoulders. "That way if I don't make it back, you still have those."

"You're a crazy bitch, you know that right?" Daryl panted as she got up to her feet.

"You love it." She teased and despite being surrounded by death his face and neck burned with embarrassment. Glenn fortunately was far too frightened to even notice. Fox slunk around the car and withdrew her largest knife and held it confidently in her hand before stepping into the street. She danced through the Walkers who by now had of course noticed her and were lunging straight towards her.

"Come on you ugly sons of bitches! Come and get it!" she yowled her husky voice to the sky like she was some rock star riling a crowd on stage. The Walkers snarled and rattled their death growls and began to shuffle after her.

"Go! Get going, right now!" she yelled, still attracting the Walkers. A few were still blocking Daryl and Glenn's access but nothing they couldn't handle. She watched out of the corner of her eye as they sprinted across the street, swerved, and cut through one of the side streets.

No more time to daydream. She had work to do. She went running up the street, dodging Walkers that grabbed for her like she was running a gauntlet. She slashed one freak across the face and kicked the body away, climbing up onto the hood of a car and running across the windshield, her boots making a racket on the metal. That was good. That drew more freaks towards her and away from Daryl and Glenn. She tried not to think about them and only on the task at hand. She forced herself to do so. It was the only way she was going to make it out alive.

She sprinted across the car and jumped for the next one. A Walker threw itself on the hood where she landed but she sprung off the metal like she had wings on her feet. More growling right behind her, hordes more zombies going to block her escape. She paused for just a moment on the roof of the car and slashed another Walker in the face, kicking him back and leaping into the tail bed of a truck. Her boots slammed the metal hard but she was safe for only a minute. She scrambled to its roof and then down its hood. The next car was too far away for her to jump.

"Come and get it bitches." She growled unsheathing her small knives and throwing, one, two, three, dropping them like she'd hit them with bullets. Her aim was true each and every time and she leapt off the hood of the truck, her knees absorbing the impact. She ran forward and snatched two out of the three knives and bolted for her life.

The washed out canvas of the city became a blur of grey, brown, and tans with splashes of black and red thrown in. She couldn't tell if she was crying out at every turn when she saw a Walker grabbing for her, or if her sounds were drowned out by their incessant hissing growls. The stress of the sun, the impact of her body weight on her already weakened frame, and the copious amount of adrenaline slamming through her system was rattling her already skewed judgment. She cut another Walker across the face but had to throw herself into its body to avoid being snagged and bitten by another. She was gasping for air, sweat pouring down her skin as her heart beat frantically. Life, life, life, it was all she could think about. Time seemed to stretch and contract and narrow to a single focal point of each breath, each heartbeat. Drums pounded in her ears that were either her footsteps beating on the concrete or her own blood roaring through her veins like a freight train. Sweat slicked her skin as the sun climbed higher and she finally realized where she was headed.

The only good thing about Walkers is that many of the corpses were still stiff from the cold, clenching grasp of death. She loosened the muscles in her legs as much as she could and ran full out, sprinting as hard and as fast as she could go knowing speed was her only chance. They still surrounded her and formed a pack that was following her, but the amount she ran into and had to kill to get out of her way was thinning. She thanked God for small favors and bolted, deciding to risk a side trip. She swerved down a wide but lonely ally and was feeling very grateful that there were only two geeks inside it and nowhere near the door she was going towards. She reached it, the horde that had been following her coming around the corner and she towards the door. She was amazed to find that it was still unlocked- whoever had been here before her must have been in a helluva hurry- and she escaped inside, slamming the door hard and flipping the latch, chaining it as well as the Walkers shoved against it. She leaned on the door, not to keep them out, the chain was relatively thick and so was the lock, but she used it for support while she caught her breath. She tried to slow the rapid beating of her heart, amazed she had made it out alive. There had been so many close calls and now that she wasn't running they all flashed through her mind's eye.

"Get up, get what you need, get out. They're waiting for you." She told herself. Its what she had told herself not so long ago when there were others waiting on her as well. She pushed those memories away and got to her feet.

The building she'd run to was an army surplus supply store. The only reason she knew it was here was because when she'd moved to Atlanta with her mother, she'd come here looking for cheap combat boots, but now that the world had gone to shit, they had a lot of stuff that could be useful, but there was only one thing she was looking for here, and wonder of wonders, it was still there, hanging on the wall behind the glass counter. A pair of medieval looking kukri knives complete with leather holster. She jumped over the counter and took them off the wall, pulling the blades free of the holster and examining them. Even in the fractured sunlight leaking in from the dirty glass of the storefront the blades gleamed, the razor edged just begging to taste blood. She smirked and buckled on the holster, the blades resting against the small of her back. She also snatched a black and white bandanna from a rack and tied it around her neck, pulling it over her nose and mouth to help stop the awful smell of the streets as she dared to creep out the front door.

Most of the horde was still around the back, but a few straggler geeks saw her leave. They turned and let out their rattling death growls, signaling to the other monsters that there was food and it was getting away. She turned tail and bolted, her feet pounding the concrete, kicking up loose pebbles, throwing dirty water as she splashed through puddles and sending pieces of debris tumbling into the street.

She dared to skid to a halt and turn to see another mob of Walkers coming from one end of the street, but up the ways looked like a better shot. She swerved and headed east, running as fast as she could. Her endurance was starting to wear out and she knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before she was going to have to find a place to hide, unless she found Daryl and Glenn first.

"Oh shit!" she screeched, sliding to a halt in an intersection that was blocked by a ravenous mob of zombies. As soon as they saw her they turned and opened their ruined mouths, black blood spilling from between chewed off lips as they staggered towards her, their rotting hands stretched out in a sick, deadly embrace. "Fuck it." No fear, only a snarl in her voice as she pulled out her new blades. She had never used them before, but she knew the concept wasn't all that different. It didn't take rocket science to kill Walkers. Just a good shot to the head.

She ran towards the side of the horde, seeing another smaller group to her left out of the corner of her eye. She swung her right arm and took one head clean off, the kukri knife slicing as cleanly and as easily as hot metal through butter. She ducked and rolled, stabbing another in the leg on the left to cripple it before she shoved herself forward. She couldn't get her feet under her in time and her cheek scraped the filthy pavement as she kicked and scrambled wildly, trying to get her feet under her, hands full of blade and asphalt. She squealed in fright when she felt hands on her legs and her limbs kicked out violently as she stabbed and slashed and shrieked, fighting for her life. When she finally got her feet under her she lurched forward, running for her life, anger, pain, rage, and fear howling through her vocal chords.

"You motherfucking sons of bitches! Fucking die!" She lopped off another head that was in her way and kept running. The kukri blades sang as blood spattered the streets and dripped down the metal but she didn't dare stop moving. Her feet ate the ground like ravenous teeth and she shot forward, clearing another two blocks and leaving most of the horde behind, only encountering a few here and there that she either dodged or killed for the last time.

The buildings were starting to thin by the time she'd gone four blocks east and she was worried maybe she had the wrong street when all of a sudden a set of trees blocking her view cleared and she saw a grocery store parking lot. This had to be the place. She ran forward, dodging several Walkers in the parking lot, and noting that there were fresh kills lying right next to the door. She stepped through the broken glass and leaned against one of the buckled frames, trying as hard as she could to catch her breath without gasping too loudly.

She heard a rustle coming from the back of the darkened store. It was too dark and there was too many overturned shelves and debris flung every which way for her to make out what had made it, but she held her new blades deftly, ready and willing to kill whoever got in her way. The cracking and rustling continued and she finally pushed herself to her feet, heading towards the noise. And then, at last, she heard voices. Voices she never thought she'd be so glad to hear in her life.

"I am not carrying a ten pound bag of rice!" The Southern husky drawl from the redneck was matched by Glenn's smoother, younger tone.

"Oh come on, its good and it'll go along way!"

"Drag it yourself Chinaman!"

"Boys, might wanna lower your voices." She said as she came around the corner and saw them arguing over said ten pound bag of rice that was sitting in a burlap sack unopened on the floor at their feet.

"Holy shit. What happened to you?" Glenn panted as he came jogging over. It was just then that she realized she was smeared with grit and filth from where she'd went down in the middle of the street. Her lungs were still burning as she inhaled, trying to steady her rapidly pounding heart.

"Got away is what. You got the stuff?" she asked, looking more at Daryl than Glenn.

"Yeah, unless you wanna be the one to drag his rice." Daryl muttered, nudging the bag with his foot.

"I got it." She said, picking it and stuffing it in her backpack before zipping it up and shouldering it, adjusting the straps so it rested higher on her back so it wouldn't drag her hips and legs down.

"Those are new." Daryl noted the kukri blades when she set them down in order to adjust her bag.

"Ducked into an army surplus shop when I was getting away. Took them off the wall. Damn useful." She said as she picked them up again, tucking one in her belt as her bag was blocking easy access to her holster and the other she kept in her hand. Daryl still had an arrow notched in his crossbow and Glenn's shotgun's safety was still on. That was good. They hadn't run into much trouble.

"Alright now, back to the vehicles. We drop these and then go for the gasoline. Or if its too overrun, we get the hell out." Glenn said as his pack settled on his thin shoulders.

"It's pretty overrun. But I think we can still get the gas. All we need is a distraction." She said. She could hear that she didn't exactly sound like herself, and when she took a step forward her thighs trembled something fierce.

"Stop." Daryl growled as Glenn was heading for the door. Fox leaned against one of the still standing shelves, trying to get her breath back but the tremors running through every limb made her feel even more unsteady.

"Hey. You ok?" Daryl asked as he carefully set his crossbow aside and laid a hand on her back. He could feel her shaking clearly, the tremors now running up into his own arm and he withdrew his touch, surprised at what he'd felt.

"I'm fine." She panted. She struggled to pick her head up again and take another step but she couldn't make it more than two or three paces before she actually collapsed into a pile of leather boots and red hair.

"Jesus Christ, you're dead weight." Daryl muttered. "Yo, Chinaman, get over here."

"I'm Korean for the last time." Glenn growled but he came and crouched down next to Daryl where he was helping Fox sit up against the metal shelf rack.

"When was the last time you ate?" Daryl asked. He took Fox by the jaw and forced her head down to look in his eyes. "Come on, when was it?"

"Three days ago? Shit I don't fucking know." Her eyes were swimming and her breathing still hadn't slowed down.

Daryl dug through Glenn's bag while the kid kept glancing nervously over his shoulder. When he finally found what he was looking for, Fox's eyebrows lifted just slightly.  
"Gatorade? Really?" she asked as Daryl unscrewed the cap, strong hands breaking the seal easily.

"The sugar will perk you up. You try solid food now you'd probably throw it back up again. Come on, drink. Don't got all day." He reminded her, handing her the bottle.

She nodded and took it from him, taking a long swig. It actually hurt to swallow so much at once and her stomach clenched so tight she groaned, doubling over.

"Easy." Daryl murmured. "Keep it down. You're not going anywhere till you finish this. It won't last long, but it'll be enough for now. Come on." He took the opportunity to be gentler with her than his brother had ever been with him.

She kept drinking, going in smaller sips, several times having to lean her head back and just breathe because she thought she'd be sick otherwise. "Remind me to smack the shit out of Rick when we get back." She panted.

"There you go." Daryl said, unable to stop the thin half smile that found its way onto his face. It had been Rick that ordered the restriction of food, and she hadn't eaten anything since she'd been caught.

"Come on guys, we can't wait much longer." Glenn said impatiently. He was on his feet now staring out the shattered doors of the grocery store into the parking lot. There were more Walkers headed their way and Fox took down the last of the Gatorade before staggering up to her feet. Daryl instinctively moved to catch her and her nose was pressed into the muscle of his forearm for a moment. She breathed in deep his scent of sweat, musk, and something that reminded her of sunlight and finally gained her feet.

"You good?" he asked.

"Yeah." She forced herself to stand up straight, holding onto her new knife deftly. "Let's go." Her legs were still trembling but she refused to let it show in her face.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Fox asked as they stood just outside the broken down doors.

"The fastest way to the truck is a straight line. There are some fences in the way but the second time I came I brought wire cutters and cut a path. As long as we stay quiet any Walkers in our way we can dodge or kill with the blade. We'll come out on the other side of the train station than before, but once we're there we're in the clear."

Daryl nodded. "Let's go."

They all crept through the parking lot, going behind cars, moving as though playing Red-Light-Green-Light, except this time for their lives. They waited for the shambling corpses to shuffle past before skittering to the next car. Once they were at the street they made a break for it, loping as fast as they could without attracting attention. The bag of rice was weighing Fox down but she muscled down the pain and kept moving. The fluids had done her good and even though she didn't feel back up to speed where she had been, she could keep going. She was going to have to. She'd be damned if she died in this God forsaken city. She'd lost too much, given too much of herself away, spilt too much blood she loved to let that happen.

They crawled through fences and weed choked lots, for the most part left entirely alone by the geeks who were crowded in the main streets. A few times she and Daryl bashed in a skull in order to keep their hiss-growls from attracting another mob, but other than that the journey back to the tracks was smooth. They darted around the dilapidated building, crossing one last fence, the truck and Daryl's bike finally in sight.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see this rust bucket." Glenn panted as he tossed his bag into the floorboard of the truck. Daryl and Fox did the same, and her back thanked her mightily after shedding its ten-pound burden.

"Yeah well, we gotta go back." Daryl said, spitting on the ground and shouldering his crossbow. He looked at Fox out of the corner of his eye. "Can you make the trip? Be straight right now, because if you drag us down and we get killed, I swear to God when I come back I'll eat you first."

She actually laughed despite the seriousness in his voice. "I can make the trip. Just let me breathe a minute." She said.

Glenn seemed to agree with this assessment and they all stood catching their breath by the truck, the sun continuing to beat down on them mercilessly. After several minutes they turned to Glenn who seemed more comfortable now about giving orders.

"The parking lot where I've been getting gas is ideal for us. There's a deep ditch behind it that the Walkers fall into which leaves only the sides and the front for us to worry about." He took a stick and began to draw the layout in the dirt, just like he'd done at the warehouse.

"We should access the lot from the side. There's cars over there I haven't touched yet, I know there's gasoline in them, and it's a smaller side street, less likely for there to be a mob. From the front is the problem. There is an overturned semi-truck that helps block their view from the main road, but who knows how many are actually wandering in the lot."

Fox nodded. "If we had to draw them away, what's our best bet for leading them on a chase and then circling back around?"

"Across the ditch." He answered, indicating behind his square drawing of the lot where he'd scrawled the word 'gas' into the dirt. "It's wide enough that if you were running and you jumped you'd make it, but only just. Behind the ditch is scrub that developers never cleared, kudzu and things like that, and beyond that is someone's yard and a little neighborhood. The Walkers fall in the ditch and get stuck in the mud and take a long time to climb out, but who knows what might be waiting for you across it. If there's nothing you can just wait for them to follow you over and then run and cross at a different spot and come back to us."

"And if there is something?" she asked.

"If it's a few, I know you can handle them." He said, nodding at her freshly blood stained blade. "If it's a mob…try running parallel to the ditch until you can find another place to cross. They're not smart enough to walk out into the street via the path that leads to the neighborhood and block your access back across the street, at least not on purpose. If you make enough noise, they'll just follow wherever you go. Then get a running jump back across the ditch."

"Hopefully there is nothing waiting for us and we can just keep out of sight and get what we need and go. If its mobbed, we'll get the hell out." Glenn said, standing up.

"If we gotta take the vehicles, how are we getting in?" Daryl asked. "My bike's exposed, if we go the main streets, they'll rip me to shreds."

Glenn nodded. "Follow me. I'll take the sides streets, plenty of places you can get away that's not so crowded. We'll get out the same way we get in. The only time we move on foot is if we're getting the gas and we need a distraction." He turned to Fox. "Can you run again? That was some impressive shit you did back there."

"Only if I have to. And let's hope that's not the case. Let's go."

She climbed back onto Daryl's bike and he kicked the engine to life as Glenn cranked up the truck. Both vehicles made far too much noise for anybody's liking, but true to Glenn's word, as soon as there was an opportunity he zoomed away from the main streets and took side ally ways and one way turns, going the wrong way, but for the most part, they only passed a few Walkers. Up ahead was what had to be the lot Glenn had been getting gas from. There was the ditch and scrub to the back and the overturned semi in the front. There was a small mob of Walkers, maybe fifteen in total, mingling around, shuffling slowly and then turning when they heard the engines.

"Go, deal with them, I'll get the gas going!" Glenn huffed as he jumped out of the truck and grabbed the containers. Daryl and Fox swung off and approached the group of geeks. It was business mixed with the pleasure of destroying what had tried so hard to annihilate them. Heads flew, blood spattered and slicked the pavement and their boots as they made short work of the undead bastards.

"Those knives are damn handy." Daryl commented as Fox cracked the last skull in the nearby vicinity.

"No shit. Come on, sooner we get what we need, the sooner we get out." She panted. They jogged back to where Glenn was and grabbed canisters and plastic tubing, using suction to start siphoning off the gasoline. There were thirty containers in all, and if they wanted to not have to get gas for a while, this was as good a time as any to fill them all.

"I can't believe it." Glenn said as he wiped sweat off his brow as he watched another canister being filled. "I can't believe they haven't found us yet."

"Maybe there is a God after all." Fox replied, flashing him a small smile. He returned her look, but only for a moment before he ducked away. Under the pretense of wiping sweat from his face but Fox knew better. She'd seen the flush that wasn't from the sun. It made her smile inside.

Daryl marched over carrying another two containers and adding them to the large pile in the back of the truck. "Quit your braying and work. Sooner were out of here, the better."

Glenn rolled his eyes and Fox snickered a little, but nonetheless, she did start to hurry. It was as she was on her way back to take another container from Glenn that she almost froze.

"Guys. We got company." She said, looking over the bed of the truck and seeing a mob of Walkers heading straight for them, parallel to the ditch beside them.

"How much longer till we're done?" Glenn asked as he also ran and put his container in the truck.

"Only two more." Daryl panted.

"You two fill 'em up, I got these. I'll run them into the ditch just like Glenn said. When you're done swing back around and pick me up." Fox unsheathed her knives and nodded once to both of them, not leaving them time to argue before running straight for the zombies.

"Death wish. Has to be." Daryl muttered as he grabbed the last container. He ran to the nearest abandoned vehicle but it was already drained dry. He tried the next two over and still nothing. When he finally found one with gasoline he could see that Fox had already leapt the ditch and was crashing through the scrub and kudzu across the ditch. Just like Glenn had said the Walkers were following her, falling into the muck and mud and only slowly climbing out. He could still faintly hear her crashing wildly, making as much noise as possible to draw the Walkers to herself.

He screwed the cap on the gas and ran towards Glenn who by now was almost frantic. More Walkers were headed their way from the main road. They threw the last two canisters into the back of the truck and Daryl shoved the tail of the bed up to keep them contained. He jumped on his bike and kicked it to life.

"Lead! I'll follow!" he yelled over the roar of the engine as Glenn clambered into the truck. Glenn tore out of the parking lot as fast as the tires of the truck could get a grip, smoking a little as the back of the bed swung back and forth threatening to fishtail. He swerved out of the lot and onto the street parallel to the ditch, Daryl not far behind.

"Come on girl, come on, come on!" he panted as he followed the truck, still not seeing her distinctive red hair clear the ditch and into the road. His heart was between his teeth and slamming so hard he might be sick until he finally saw a flash of red through the trees. He watched as Fox jumped the ditch, dodging a small pack of Walkers, cutting one with her new blades and he shot forward as she tumbled to the ground hitting her shoulder hard. She had gotten her feet just as he'd rolled up and she flung herself onto the back of his bike, clutching him fiercely as he let the throttle loose and surged forward.

When they had cleared the Walker infested neighborhood and swung back around to the train tracks to get the hell out of the city she screamed so loud it threatened to shatter his eardrums, but he actually didn't mind. He understood. She had survived. They all had. And they had something to take back to the group. They'd survived.

His reaction was not as intense as hers, and no one but her heard the laughter that the wind tore free from his throat as he sped down the road after the truck, thankful to just be alive.

**A/N: The kukri knives I'm describing in this chapter are a common weapon amongst Nepalese soldiers and police. The blade is about the length from the elbow to the wrist and is crooked slightly, like a bent machete almost with a rounded head rather than pointed. They can be used for stabbing, but slashing and cutting work best and can be wielded be a single weapon or be used in tandem with another blade. **


	13. Chapter 13

**_Here we are again my wonderful readers and reviewers! It's late but I haven't adjusted to the time-zone change yet so I'm still wide awake, so I figured I would offer this to you. Enjoy!_**

**Emberka-2012**: _A trip to the city was incredibly tense. Good that it was successful. _

I'm glad I was able to build tension and keep the suspense up, that was the goal.

**X23 Maximoff**: _Another great chapter! I really like seeing Glenn in a leadership role - he actually was my favorite before Daryl (I have a thing for Asians). And his little pep talk to himself before running into the city? Hilarious! And daaaaang Fox is a beast. All that running she did makes me feel like maybe I should go work out. A lot. She's obviously from Atlanta...I really want to know the rest of her back story! That comes next chapter? Ok cool sounds good. And Daryl's thoughts on Fox make me chuckle. He's trying so hard to not like her/be intrigued by her, and he just can't help it! Poor thing, he's just so confused hahaha. You wrote the action amazingly in this chapter - my heart was racing with Fox's as she sped through the streets, I could feel Glenn's anxiety in my soul. I especially like the way you wrote Fox's scrambling whenever she was running through the city. I could feel her desperation, her undying will to just somehow stay alive. I was on the edge of my seat as Daryl was waiting for her to reappear across the ditch, screaming in my head for her to come back quickly. And the fact that she gave them the medicine before she left, just in case? She really does have a heart of gold...and a tongue of silver. Brilliant! Leave long reviews? Don't mind if I do! Update soon please! -XM_

Glenn was my first favorite character of the show until Daryl grew on me. I have a thing for Asians too (which is good considering that I live in a city that has more Asians than any other ethnicity) And yes. His little not so mental pep talk. Glenn is one of those that wears his heart on his sleeve so he's not really worried about if what he says makes him seem scared, and it doesn't matter to much anyway because when it comes down to it, he's damn brave. I wouldn't go into a zombie infested Atlanta by myself, hell to the fucking no. And yes. Fox is pretty bad-ass, but in a dangerous reckless way. When I envision her and how she gets shit done, it's always with this 'look before you leap' air clinging to her. So far it's worked but ya never know what can happen in this world. Fox's backstory will be coming my friend, not this chapter though. Gotta way a little longer, but it'll be worth it ;) And yes, Daryl is becoming more and more obsessed with her, and he's kicking and screaming the whole damn way down, but it's all part of the charm of the relationship building between the two. When I was writing this scene, I actually had the opportunity to re-enact it a little; around Halloween my university put on a play about zombies, and they had actors waiting outside the theater chasing the patrons as they waited to get inside, and so I had the opportunity to run and dodge a small mob. Quite useful for this chapter. I wouldn't say Fox has a heart of gold, but she does care, and she's motivated to help the survivors because she doesn't want what happened to her group to happen to them. More on that later though ;)

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**:_ I love how much detail you include in your story. This chapter pulled me in and I cannot wait for the next one (: I'm glad you made it to Paris safely!_

Thanks! When I write I see the scene unfolding as though it's on a movie screen, and so I do my best to add in details like I was actually an actor in the scene rather than just me watching it happen. And yes, I made it to Paris in one piece! And I actually just came back from a day trip to London this evening, that was quite an experience! Both cities are throwing so much inspiration at me it's incredible.

**lilnightmare17**: _Awesome Fox is just kickass, and crazy. I LOVE IT! can't wait for you to update soon. _

Fox is definitely crazy. That's probably the first word I would use to describe her myself, lol. I'm glad she's getting giving good vibes to the readers.

: _I just read every choppy of this and I couldn't stop after starting! *smile* I love the story, and I can't help it but I love Fox as well. I'm somewhat glad this didn't follow the exact storyline of the show, 'cause I'm bored of reading those (too many of them) Cna't wait for the next choppy! This is great, and I think you have the characters right. *smile* I didn't review earlier because I just read this thing in one go. _

Hi there, nice to see another new reviewer! Glad to see you're enjoying the story so far, and I'm glad you approve of the non-canon plot, lol. And thanks for the affirmation about the characters, that was really my biggest thing I wanted to get right in doing this story so I'm glad it seems to be working. I hope you continue to write in and enjoy the story!

**FanFicGirl10**: _Love Fox :) She does tend to get into trouble. I'm glad she's ok and the rest too. Loved it, Update soon! _

Trouble could be that girl's middle name, lol.

** Emerald Gaze**: _If she isn't considered an official and VALUED member of the group after this then someone needs to be shot, preferably Shane especially if he tries to start stuff again. Besides that they better feed her some of the best stuff they got after all she had to go through for them. 3 days with no food, barely any water, blood loss, exposure, untended wounds, and all that activity. they better worship her now! !_!_

She's slowly but surely earning her keep. Most of the group is still suspicious of her because unlike most people, she doesn't try to make friends. Yes she did go out of her way to help them to bring back supplies, but she still steps on people's toes and rubs them the wrong way, so they're still unsure of her, which is why she sticks close to Daryl. Like she said earlier, they're the same ;)

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Loved the chapter! kukri knives, great choice. They are awesome!_

They are indeed bad-ass, and perfect for Fox, because they can do a hella lot of damage very quickly, and they're knives because for reasons yet to be learned, she won't use a gun.

* * *

They made it back to the warehouse just before the evening rain began to come down. This time they drove the truck and the bike right to the warehouse door, grabbing the supplies in their arms and running inside as the downpour began.

"You made it back!" Dale was visibly happy and relieved to see them- all of them. Carol was too although she kept Sophia close to her legs as everyone ran forward to help haul the supplies out of the rain.

"Just barely. Scraped pavement a few times." Daryl said wiping a gritty mixture of sweat and dirt from his face. Wasn't much point though. He might as well have stood out in the rain to substitute for a shower.

"Are the others back yet?" Glenn asked as he took his baseball cap off and shook some of the water off before replacing it back on his head.

"No, just you." Dale said and Daryl didn't miss the way his eyes suddenly grew downcast. And the way Lori was pacing restlessly. She certainly looked better have several strong doses of antibiotics but her face was drawn taught with stress.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon." Fox murmured quietly.

Nobody in the group really seemed to acknowledge what she said except for Dale and Carol who gave her an appreciative look. She wandered to the other side of the warehouse where she had slept last night and began to build a small fire for herself. It was almost dark when Daryl approached, but he did not come empty handed. When she saw him coming she looked up and offered the thinnest of smiles.

"Hey." She said, lifting her head off her knees.

"Brought you something." He said quietly, sitting down across from her and pushing a small plate towards her, upon which was several thick pieces of venison and some of the rice they had taken from the city today. Her smile increased dramatically.

"Thank you." She murmured before taking the plate and beginning to scarf the food. She barely even seemed to realize he was there until after she'd cleared the dish all but licking the plate by the time she was done.

"Figured you'd need it." He said glancing at her from across the fire.

"I could have gotten it myself." She told him but there was no bitterness or resentment in her.

"You did a lot for us today. More than any other stranger has, except for maybe Rick." He acknowledged. He felt himself slipping further and further into deep, uncharted waters. He didn't really want to think about where this might be going, but he didn't want to leave either.

"I did what needed to be done. That was all." She told him as she licked her fingers clean.

"Are you never going to take credit for anything you do? Including driving me crazy?" he asked, not meaning to sound as irritated as he did. In truth he was tired and his body was shaking from the stress and he truly just wanted to find someplace alone to sleep, but he had a feeling sleep would be a long way off.

She laughed a little and pulled her knees back up to her chest and he vaguely wondered how she prevented impaling herself on her multitude of weapons.

"I drive a lot of people crazy. I barely notice it at this point."

"I think you notice. You just don't care." He said, but there wasn't any bite to his words. He couldn't exactly fault her for something he himself did on a day-to-day basis.

"True." She answered and for a moment there was a mischievous smirk in her eyes. But too soon there was a look of hollowness to her face that he hadn't seen from her before, as though she were thinking of something distressing that she couldn't change.

"Why don't you use a gun?" he asked her quietly. The entire time she'd been with them and had been fighting he'd never seen her even reach for a firearm. In this day and age, having a piece wasn't exactly a disadvantage.

"It's personal." She answered. There was a clear warning in her voice not to press her but he wasn't going to let her get away so easily. After all this time he was desperate to know something, anything about her. For Christ's sake he didn't even know her real name.

"An answer for an answer." He offered after a moment's consideration. There were some things he didn't want to talk about, things that he hadn't really decided how he felt about yet, but she had nearly died today for people she barely knew. He might as well try and make it worth it, and he knew she was curious about him. Why else would she follow him around so intently?

That got her to sit up and pay attention. Literally. She shifted her legs so she was sitting cross-legged, her arms draped loosely on her knees as she stared back at him across the flickering fire.

"Alright." She said. She paused for a moment, staring into the flames, fiddling with what he recognized was a silver flip lighter in between her fingers to prevent her from having to look up at him.

"My group and I were in Nashville when things started to get bad. We heard that there was a safe zone in Atlanta, and my mother and sister were living in Atlanta as well. I thought that I could collect them and we could all head for the shelter together. But by the time we got there the city was blockaded but I convinced my friends to sneak in. We got past security but then things really started going to pieces." She stared up at him, refusing to look at the flames now. Her green eyes glistened but no tears fell from them. "And the next day I was forced to shoot my best friend before she turned. And now I just can't…" she swallowed hard as though she might cry, but when she spoke her voice was steady. "I just can't deal with a gun."

He nodded. He was feeling a little uncomfortable knowing that she had the right to ask him whatever she wanted now, but along side that, he was sorry she was in pain. He wished he knew what to do, not only to ease his own discomfort, but her pain as well. That was a new feeling. Wanting an emotional change not just to ease his own pressure but someone else's too. He did the only thing he knew how. Appealing to the ego.

"You were incredible today. Really."

She looked up at him and smiled again, a lock of messy hair tumbling against her cheek. "I just did what I had to do." She answered him calmly, but this time the acknowledgment remained in her eyes.

"So. When your brother didn't come back for you, why didn't you split? You said that you'd have been better on your own." She asked him. Her voice was more calculating this time, and he knew that this was the question she was demanding an answer for.

He paused for a while, thinking it over. He'd been chewing on it for a while now, but it was harder to put the feeling he had about it into words. She seemed content to wait but was listening intently when he spoke.

"I'm good on my own. I can fend for myself just fine, done it all my life. But with these guys…I got someone to watch my back when I'm asleep. Someone that might stick their neck out for me if I really needed it." He paused for a minute and caught her eye. They gleamed with flares of gold inside the green from the dancing of the flames. Once again he had the sensation he was sitting across from a fox, especially when she tilted her head at him, waiting for him to finish.

"I ain't crazy about all of them. But there ain't anything better waiting for me on my own."

She nodded. "You were close to your brother?" There was something new in her voice, permission to lie, if it made him feel less exposed. He could literally feel the allowance hit her husky tones, like a burn being soothed with a puff of cool air. She was offering him a way out if he didn't want to answer, and he was grateful.

"Yes." He said. A stiff, painful knot started to loosen in his chest. He wasn't sure why he felt like he could talk to her, but he did, and nobody else was around to hear. "Merle was the only one who ever looked out for me. He had his problems…brain scrambled by drugs and Dad's incessant white power mantras. He looked up to Dad a lot." He scraped his boot on the ground as the fire snapped another stick, sending a shower of sparks upwards.

"Your mother wasn't around?" she asked it as if she already knew the answer.

"Ma died when I was five. Blew herself up with a cigarette and alcohol in bed. Dad was gone when it happened." He stared deeper into the fire, remembering the way those same flames had ravaged what had been his life- burned it to the ground until there was nothing left but the clothes on his back and the ashen memories. He looked up at her to distract himself.

"And you? Your mom take care of you by herself?"

She actually chuckled a little, but it was rueful and with no real humor in it. "Mom took care of me, but I'm not sure anybody else would call it being taken care of. We survived. Mom lived life on her own terms, no matter the expense of anything else. Most people thought that she was reckless and stupid, but I was always proud of the way she was able to keep us going. We lived out of her car until I was thirteen. I distinctly remember dumpster diving for things we needed. You'd be amazed at what people just throw out."

"Not really. Lot of people toss shit out cause they can afford to buy more. Merle and I never had that luxury. Dinner was almost always a combo of something out of a can and something I'd shot or trapped in the woods. Got worse when Merle spent all our money on blow or crank or whatever the hell he was doing." He shrugged his shoulders and tossed another twig into the fire.

"We're even you know." She said quietly. "You don't owe me anything."

He didn't need an explanation, but something inside him both stiffened and came undone at the same time. He felt so off balance inside, like he'd had so much whiskey he would never even remember the night before, but he decided to just keep moving forward because the world had gone to shit and there wasn't much point in hanging on to what was already dead. "Ain't about that." He said softly.

"Oh really? Are you trying to tell me something Daryl?" she asked. Her already husky voice had dropped to a lower tone, almost crooning. She shifted to her knees and before he had realized what she was doing she crawled towards him- so close he could smell the faint traces of her perfume.

"Hey, hey, hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He said trying to scramble back from her but his back hit the wall of the warehouse and he realized she had him pinned. She shifted as close as she could get without actually sitting in his lap and leaned her face close to his.

"There's nothing to be scared of." She whispered. She reached for him and had just pressed a very chaste kiss on his lips and curled her fingers around the nape of his neck when he wriggled out from under her, almost singing himself on the fire in his haste to clamber back. His instinct was to shove her away, woman or not, but he didn't want to hurt her, or push her into the fire by accident. That didn't mean his patience hadn't reached its limit. She'd lost her mind in the space of five seconds flat if she thought a few soft spoken words was enough permission to try and suck face.

"Get off!" he growled, his eyes flashing molten blue embers. He got up to his feet and immediately walked off, embarrassment and anger gushing over him in thick, uncomfortably hot waves. He didn't know if anyone else had seen what had happened and silently made a vow that if anybody said a word they'd wake up with gutted dead squirrels in their sleeping bags. He went outside, thankful that the sun had set and the air was marginally cooler although the humidity was still unrelenting.

Fox watched Daryl go, curling her fingers into fists for a moment before her resolve hardened. She got up to her feet and her eyes scanned the group that was breaking from dinner and her eyes fell on the one she was searching for. She waited until he was moving away on his own before following him outside the back entrance of the warehouse.

"Hey." She said, just loud enough for him to hear once they were outside.

"Jesus! You scared me!" Glenn panted as he started when he saw her slipping out the door behind him. She shut it behind her to which his eyes darted around a little nervously but it didn't bother her.

"Sorry." She said, but there was a feral look in her eye that said she wasn't sorry at all. She approached Glenn who by now was giving her a strange but still curious look.

"Did you need something…?" he asked but he didn't seem to have finished speaking when she put both arms up on either side of his head, trapping him in the cage of her embrace.

"Yeah." She whispered, warm breath ghosting over Glenn's lips. The boy underneath her trembled and she smiled again. There was a dark part of her that curled its lips and grinned at the thought, but when she let it cross her face for real it wasn't quite so animalistic. Glenn's tongue darted out to lick his dry lips as she shifted closer to him. "You up for it?"

"Uh…this is a little…unexpected…" he stammered. "I mean…shit…uh…I…damn it…"

"Shhh." She hissed before kissing him, silencing any protests that he might have had. She swallowed his soft whimper of surprise as her tongue slid between his lips and ravaged his mouth, inhaling his taste. Young, skittish, full of restless blood- it reminded her of dawn, early enough to still be dodging the shadows of the night, but the sun was on its way up, a promise of safety and security from the clutches of the night. He was nothing like her type and she didn't care. He was warm and he was here, and his arms had gone around her back and pulled her tight against him, just the way she liked.

She snuck her hand beneath his loose T-shirt as her hips pressed hard against his, his back pinned against the wall of the warehouse. At first she just palmed his flesh, feeling how warm and just a little shaky he was, but then she grew more serious, her nails dragged against the soft flesh of his chest and belly causing white lines of tingling pain edged pleasure to appear, making him actually moan with the sensations. She could feel him trembling at the sensory overload and it made her smile wickedly against his mouth. Her fingers hooked into the belt loops on his pants, jerking his hips against hers hard causing him to flinch and his teeth to sink down into her lower lip hard enough to send shivers down her spine.  
"That's it boy." She growled, finally letting go of his mouth to breathe in a little. She leaned down and nipped at his neck and collarbone, pushing his hat off his head and fisting her fingers into his hair, jerking his head back to meet her eyes. "Come on!"

He seemed to understand her haste but no idea what to do. That was fine by her, she could teach him, and she'd teach him by deepening his own need. She caught his mouth with hers again and kissed him even deeper, robbing his ability to breathe while she ducked her hand beneath the waistband of his jeans and squeezed his rapidly expanding package, massaging him intently, making his hips roll into her and his head fall back as he gasped for breath.

"Shit…" he cursed, his voice thin and tinged with lust. She grinned and nipped at his throat again, enjoying the way he was melting in her hands. He undid his belt, button, and zipper and she did the same, sliding her shorts and panties down only as far as necessary before taking Glenn's hand and guiding it down to the apex of her thighs while her other scratched lightly at his scalp, just hard enough to send tingles of pleasure down his neck and spine.

"I don't have a…uh…condom…" he managed to get the words out in between the kisses that had become more like bites to each other's lips.

"Don't worry about it babe. When I ransacked the pharmacy, I got birth control pills too. Been on them for a while, cramps get so bad I can't move otherwise." She explained her words fast and rasped from need. "Now stop talking." She hissed, feral and unrelenting with need.

He didn't waste any more time. He actually asserted himself and turned their positions, using the wall for leverage against her back before taking her. He moaned and leaned his head against her shoulder, shuddering a little at the sensation. She sighed pleasantly and let her head loll back and her eyes close. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. It was the familiar sweet taste of guilt blended with pleasure and rolled in pain. She dug her nails into the back of Glenn's neck and shoulders trying to drown out all the demons that were clawing at her, doing their very best to drag her soul to hell and never let it go.

Glenn's rhythm was awkward and unsteady at first, but she helped him out, more than enough experience under her belt for the both of them. His lip was near to bleeding from biting it to keep quiet, and she busied her teeth and tongue by pressing soft bites and kisses to his jaw, collarbone, and neck. She found a particularly sensitive spot just below his jaw under his ear that when she teethed had him clutching her hips and flanks so tight that she was sure there'd be bruises. His fingers scraped at the skin of her belly and sides, moving underneath her shirt and squeezing her breasts as his chest moved fast with want for air for a multitude of different reasons. She wrapped one leg around his hips after a particular set of fasts thrusts on his part and used her thigh to push him hard into her one last time.

"Fuck!" he cursed and she moaned a little for the first time, her fingers digging into his scalp and pulling on his hair so hard she was sure it hurt but she couldn't be bothered to care. Waves of pleasure rolled through her and she sucked in a deep breath, trying to stay in this one moment, letting it help her forget, letting it strip her of everything and just leave her naked in this split second in time. The demons howled and screamed; inside her mind she saw blood and death and pain and a burning red haze that made it hard to breathe, but it was being drowned out by heat and fire and a flash of white and shattered diamonds and the blurry haze of pain edged pleasure. Her head spun and she could feel herself shaking and for a brief, wonderful split second in time she was nothing except flesh and blood. No memories and no pain, just skin and nerves and shaking waves of warmth and gratification. She only pulled herself back to awareness when she realized she was hurting Glenn from how hard her nails had dug into his shoulder blades.

Her heartbeat slowly came down from its elevated pace and she opened her eyes. Her legs no longer trembled and she slowly eased her grip on Glenn's hips. It would never be enough, but it would have to do for a while. She opened her eyes and saw Glenn looking back at her, a bashful smile on his face. She leaned forward and kissed him playfully, gently pulling on his lower lip a little before letting him go. He tried to say something but she shot him a look stating very plainly not to ruin the moment. He couldn't help the smile that worked its way onto his lips again and she gave him one back.

She had just looked up from redoing her belt when Fate's justice intervened. She looked up and saw Daryl standing about fifteen feet away by the corner of the warehouse. It wasn't clear from his expression how much he had seen but Fox knew he was no fool. He could figure it out. The air smelled of sex, intensified by the warm, humid air. She breathed it in and smiled. No sense in playing virgin now.

"What do you want?" she asked, as if she hadn't just been caught red handed by the man who had rejected her not ten minutes ago. It was as casual as asking him to hand her something.

Glenn on the other hand was mortified and by the looks of it, afraid. She supposed he had a right. If he thought Daryl had some interest in her, who was to say he wouldn't flay the Asian kid alive for getting in the way. But Fox knew better. Daryl wouldn't touch Glenn. He'd know that this was Fox's doing, and she wouldn't have had it any other way. She wanted it to be that way. She wanted his insides to twist and turn. She wanted him to be jealous. She wanted him to seethe. She had asked him for something that to her was so simple, and he had denied her, and for that she would make him burn. She had almost died to help him only hours ago, and so she couldn't be bothered with feeling bad about how selfish she was being.

"Rick and the others are back." He growled. His voice was laced with venom and his posture screamed that he was angry enough to tear someone's head free of their shoulders with his bare hands as he turned and stalked away.

"Good." She said to herself, surely confusing Glenn.  
"He's pissed." The Asian stated obviously. She made to go back inside the warehouse from the back door they'd gone through but he touched her wrist to stop her for a moment.

"You're not…with him…are you? I've seen what he can do to squirrels. I don't wanna trade places with one." He literally did look scared. Fox just smirked.

"Quit worrying kid. Daryl's no fool. And even if he was, there's nothing between me and him." She said.

"Then how come he looked ready to gut me and leave me for Walker bait?" he asked as he nervously jammed his cap back on his head.

"Cause he was too disgusted to look at me." She answered honestly. There was no pain, shame, or guilt in her voice, and she felt none in her heart either. She pulled the warehouse door open and Glenn ducked inside. She lingered outside for several long minutes, breathing in the smell of the damp Georgia air, sin, and pain. But there was no death, and that would have to be enough.


	14. Chapter 14

**_Well ladies and gentlemen we are back! And it seems like a long time coming, but this is really where my plot diverges from the canon story. I can't say how of course, for that you shall have to read and find out ;) I have loved all of your reviews, keep them coming! Enjoy!_**

**Emeraldgaze**: _Well... that was unexpected but fitting though i really wanna know what daryl's thinking right now. I also wonder if anyone else noticed those guys were missing as well as what glenn thinks of fox now!_!_

All questions answered with time =)

**codeblueeyes987**: _I loved this chapter. She is so badass_

You know that is the reaction people keep giving her, which I like. I was wondering how people might respond to this chapter and for a while I debated on changing it but I'm glad I stuck with it =)

**mrskaz435**: _No...No...No... not Glen & Fox... Oh hell no...LOL __I get her being upset with Daryl for running away from her, but using Glen that way was just all kinds of wrong... Not to mention, ruined any chance of Glen/daryl friendship, which I love...What she did was wrong... this is going to cause problems for Glen & Daryl... I really liked her & Daryl together, but now, not so much... Oh well, guess we'll see what happens... Too bad that Glen/Daryl friendship won't happen... Maybe, you can bring on another OC for Daryl... someone who has some damn patience and wont jump the first guy she sees the second something she doesn't like happens..ALl she has done for the group is good and they should start to respect her & treat her better, but after this I kind of hope Daryl tells her to FO...because I just can't get behind her using poor Glen and ruining any chance of a friendship between my two favs... I think Fox will end up regretting this and I hope that she does...I also hope Glen tells her to FO once he realizes that she used him to get back at Daryl, which could get his butt kicked..._

Well hello there new reviewer! Nice to hear a new voice chiming in =) I want so badly to respond to the strong points on your review but if I do it will give too much of this chapter away so I shall restrain myself as much as possible. I guarantee you that this will be a long story so there is time for relationships to be repaired if that is indeed the way the cookie crumbles so to speak. And Fox has a bad habit of looking before she leaps and the consequences come back to smack her in the face later on. Regret on the other hand is not something she's all that familiar with. I hope that the bad taste Fox has put in your mouth will deter you from reading the story though. Either way, I'm very glad you wrote in, its nice to get any and all viewpoints/opinions/perspectives especially on an OC.

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Wow. Fox is one interesting character! Great chapter!_

Interesting isn't the half of it, lol. Well, maybe I'm giving myself airs. I try to write her as brutally honest as possible, all her flaws and imperfections front and center, but without her wallowing in guilt over it. To put it mildly, she has no shame XD

**FanFicGirl10**: _Well I did not see that coming! I did like it but I would have loved it if it was with Daryl ;) Daryl is so jelly right now, but that is what he gets for turning Fox down. I loved it, Update Soon!_

Mmm, ain't that the truth? Poor Daryl, he's so shy and socially awkward beneath all of that grit. Norman Reedus himself stated that he's playing Daryl as a virgin which I thought 'well damn, throw your charrie under the bus why don't ya' but we shall see where his oh so confusing tightrope walk of a relationship with Fox goes…

**Emberka-2012**: _So she wanted to make Daryl jealous. If she wanted to use Daryl as well as she used Glenn, hunter was right that refused her. If she wanted something more serious with him, she should have been more patient. And something tells me that Daryl react to it very seriously._

Daryl refused her mostly out of uncertainty and lack of confidence. He doesn't know her, and isn't really kosher with emotions so he's never been with someone in a romantic sense and has no idea what to do. Poor guy. But yes, Fox did what she did in part to make Daryl jealous. As you'll see later though, that wasn't the whole reason…

**Louis Tomlinson Stole My Pants**: _Seems like everyone wants a piece of the korean lol_

I have no idea what your pen name refers to but I like it ;) And yes. Everyone's gotta get their hands on little Glenn, he's just irresistible like that, lol. Thanks for writing in!

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Sorry had reviewed lately I was on a family vacation before Christmas, anyway I'm only gonna review this chapter because although you say long reviews are good I feel like it will be too long. This chapter was great, poor Daryl he's so confused when Fox is kissing him you can feel his battle within part of him wants this the other part doesn't know what it want so be as he is he settles for not wanting it, but then when he sees her with Glenn that inner battle starts again, at least that's how I took it. I want to thank you, after reading this I felt inspired to write so I did and, although I don't think it compares to yours I might post it, and I just want to thank you for giving me confidence to write again. Alright mushy time is over, great chapter! Sorry for not reviewing sooner. XoXoXoKat_

No worries, I totally understand family obligations and life obligations in general. And yes, poor Daryl, he is oh so confused. He's never had something even close like this happen to him before, I imagine its a lot to throw at someone all at once, lol. And I'm so glad that I inspired you to write, I love to create and bring people happiness with what I make and inspiring someone towards the same drive is just wonderful icing on the cake. If you do decide to post it let me know and I will certainly read and review!

**Roxu**: _I'm . . . I'm very impressed by this. I've read a countless number of Walking Dead fanfics, though there are some where I like the action more -or describe more. I'm not criticizing you, trust me - there's not much to ridicule. I really like your plot and how the story started, it's the first story that I've seen starting the main character as the 'enemy'. It's awesome, honestly and truly awesome._

Wow, I never thought I'd hear that. I figured there'd at least been some stories where the main OC starts out as the bad guy, or at least unwanted in camp. Maybe there are, but I'm glad my story seems to be original/inventive thus far. And yeah, I'm trying to find that balance between inner dialogue and emotions with all of the zombie slaying that we love about the show :) I hope I continue to please you with my writing and thanks for writing in!

* * *

Daryl did everything in his power to just try and pretend that he hadn't seen what he had, but outright denial wasn't cutting it. He _had_ seen it, plain as fucking day. Glenn and Fox devouring each other like they were wolves in heat. It made his stomach roll uncomfortably just thinking about it. It felt like fire had torn through his flesh and left him raw and exposed. And he hated it. But what he hated more was the jealousy that was eating away at each and every nerve fiber until he burned so hot a bath of ice would vaporize directly into steam had it touched his skin. Since when did he give a shit about what Fox did? When had her actions become so important to him all of a sudden? The realization that he was this angry, this burned at what he'd seen hit him like a freight train to the chest.

_So what. So the hell what, Daryl. She can fuck whoever she likes. Since when did she grab you by the balls and twist you to your knees? _

He ran with this train of thought for as long as it could take him, but it didn't take him very far, because try as he might to tell himself otherwise, he did care. He cared, and he cared way more than he ever thought he could. Or knew he could. To save his sanity he fell back into himself, that dark place where it was just him and Merle and his father in his life and nobody else. He let their voices crowd around him in his head, shouting out everything else that was making his hands shake with humiliation and anger. It slowly began to fade as he kept hearing the mantras of his father and his brother crowding out the images of Fox pressed so close to Glenn it was hard to tell where one started and the other stopped. It was peaceful in that place, because as dark as it was, it was familiar, and he knew exactly who he was in it, and he knew who and what he was responsible for, and feelings didn't exactly matter all that much. He leaned his metaphorical head back and closed his mind's eye letting himself drown in it.

So what if Fox decided to fuck the kid? What was she to him? A fucking nuisance and that was it. He didn't give a shit. She could get her rocks off on anybody she liked. It was none of his concern. Resolution hardened in his gut as he made his way back inside the warehouse, joining up with the others finding Glenn and Fox already there sitting around the larger fire that had been built. He noticed that they didn't sit together although Glenn kept sneaking glances at her. Jesus Christ, he was worse than a love struck puppy. It was disgusting.

He took a seat away from her as well but it put him uncomfortably close to Shane. He was grateful for when Dale and Andrea became a buffer and it was only now that he looked them over. The group that had returned looked haggard, jittery, and weakened, but no worse for wear. And they all had made it back alive.

"What did you find?" Dale asked as they began wolfing down their share of dinner.

"The CDC's abandoned." Shane started. "Ain't nothing there but bodies piled up outside of some barbed wire and Walkers on the front lawn."

"You couldn't even get inside?" Lori asked worriedly.

"Oh no. We got inside." T-dog said staring through the fire as though he could see what they had just went through again in the flames.

"There was nothing there. No people, no power, nothing. But in some of the underground labs we found print out reports about the plague." Rick started. He ran his hand through the stubble on his face and jaw before continuing. "The docs at the CDC thought it was viral or parasitic. That as it infects it takes over our cells. It kills us, but it brings the body back to life so the infection can still live. Its why they need to eat." He looked at them all. "They do need to eat. They need nutrients from flesh for the infection to survive."

"Did they know how to kill it? How to reverse it?" Dale questioned.

Rick shook his head. "No. But we found a report that said the CDC in Alaska hadn't been hit so hard. That they might have something. They lost communication right as the military pulled out, which according to their logs was over a month ago."

"So…there's still something out there. It's not just us." Lori said softly.

"There was nothing that we could find that said they were still alive. It only took two weeks for most of the country to be destroyed." Andrea said bitterly.

"But Alaska…it's not even attached to the continental US. It's isolated!" Glenn urged, excitement gleaming in his eyes. "Maybe there is still something left."

"Don't get your hopes up." T-dog said heavily. "Even if they were still operational, how the hell do you think we'd get up there?"

"Would we even want to?" Shane threw in, looking darkly at the rest of the group. "Think about it. No law, no order, nothing to stop them from doing whatever they wanted. You think if we just marched in there they'd throw the doors open and let us sleep on the couch?" he snorted with contempt. "Besides. It's Alaska. By the time we even made it up there, do you have any idea how cold it would be? If we got stranded somewhere we could freeze to death. Plus there's no telling how many Walkers are out on the highways. There's no way we can make that trip. We stay as we are." He said it as though he was the one calling the shots.

"Rick?" Lori asked quietly.

"The reports at the CDC were vague. There's no way of knowing if Alaska is up and running, and Shane is right. The journey getting there could be deadly. If it were spring and we had more time before the cold weather was going to come, I would think about it longer, but the fact is, with how limited our supplies are, and how difficult it is to find fuel…I think risking a trip into the tundra isn't a good idea." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"So what now?" Carol asked worriedly. "We just keep running?" The desperation in her voice was obvious

"We keep surviving." Rick said with a firm nod. "We got what we needed out of Atlanta right?" He turned to Glenn for an answer.

"We got enough fuel to last us a little while. We got more food and water too, but if Daryl can't hunt, it won't go very far." He sounded nervous mentioning the hunter but Daryl wouldn't look at him.

"Maybe we should split up." Andrea said quietly. "So we don't have to stretch food and gasoline so thinly. Maybe its better if we just go on our own."

"Andrea…" Dale sounded horrified at the idea.

"No. We stay together." Rick said, no trace of negotiation in his voice. "We've been through too much hell to go at this alone now. We've lost too many people."

"There's nothing left!" Andrea cried, throwing her hands up in despair. "It's gone! The world is dead! We keep trying to throw together something that looks like a life just for it to be torn away again! It's gone!" She got up from the group and stormed outside. Dale made to follow her but Rick grabbed him by the wrist.

"Let her breathe. She took what we found at the CDC very hard." Rick warned.

"She shouldn't be alone! After what happened with Amy…she's not right in her mind. Maybe you are afraid to try and put broken pieces back together, but I'm not." Dale insisted. He pulled out of Rick's grasp and followed Andrea out the door. The group fell into a nervous, uneasy silence. Fox drew away, as did Daryl, but they did not go together. She let him go back to the fire she had built earlier but she went out the back door of the warehouse. She heard footsteps following her and when she left the shelter she expected to see Glenn, but it was Rick.

"What do you want?" she asked. She didn't mean to sound quite so angry, but she also wasn't sorry she did either.

"Glenn told me what you did for him and Daryl today in Atlanta. I wanted to thank you. They might have died otherwise." Rick said. He was calm, but there was an edge in his blue eyes and Fox knew that there was something else besides gratitude he wanted to discuss.

"I did for them what I would have wanted someone else to do for my group." She answered. Two could play at this game. She folded her arms over her chest and unconsciously her hip cocked to the side.

"I really hope that's the case. And speaking of groups, I need to know if you intend to stay with us or not. If you intend to be apart of us."

She met his eyes with a cool and calculating measure. "What's it to you if I stay or if I go?"

"I saw you in the battle at the quarry. You're skilled and you're brave, and we need people like that, especially now. But some of the members still don't trust you. Now, I can vouch for you and they will just have to…get to know you." He chose his words carefully. "But I have to know where your loyalties lie."

"My loyalties lie with those who earn them." She said firmly. "And you, Rick Grimes, have not earned them. But Daryl and Glenn…they have." He didn't have to know what had just happened between her, Glenn, and Daryl. It was none of his concern, and in truth, had nothing to do with how she felt about either of the two men. Sex was just an escape, a way out of things she didn't want to feel. That's what it had always been for her, and so the body underneath her own didn't really make much of a difference. It never had, and even now, if there were a battle to be had, she would fight just as strongly beside both, even if neither wanted her there. "And they stand with you. And so I will stand with you as well. But don't think I will be the scapegoat, the prisoner, the second class citizen, simply because I didn't meet the rest of you on some God forsaken highway out of hell." She scraped her foot on the ground and stared him straight in the face. "I have seen hell. Escaped from it. And I have earned my keep with you."

Rick stared back at her, testing her resolve and her fortitude to stick by her words. When she gave no ground, his eyes softened a little and he continued. "There's just one more thing. What happened between you and Glenn? He was watching you the entire time we were talking. Daryl too."

"It's none of your business." She warned. She turned to go but Rick advanced on her and she stood her ground.

"Don't think for a second I'll let you stay if you turn our group into chaos and pit people against each other." He hissed and now there was a bite to his voice. A threat. And the look in his eyes said he was serious.

"I pit no one against each other. If Daryl has an issue with Glenn, let them work it out." Her eyes burned like emerald coals but Rick was not deterred.

"Don't tell me for two seconds it doesn't have something to do with you. They're the only ones out of the group you've spent any length of time, and you're the only common factor between them!" Rick spoke harshly, the inflection in his voice rising.

"So what?" she hissed. "They're grown men. They can work it out."

"Don't push people, Fox." Rick warned. "Don't do it. Especially not Daryl. I saw what he did to Shane, and I'm grateful you helped put a stop to it. But Daryl comes from a long history of acting first and not even bothering to ask questions later. Glenn is a valuable part of this group, I'd like to keep his face from being bashed in." Rick's fingers twitched and though he did not touch the revolver holstered on his hip, Fox could see the longing. The wanting.

"You are not my god." Fox warned and though her voice was quiet, there was the edge of a ruthless knife in it. "And if you think you can tame me into your little pet who comes at your beck and call, you're sorely mistaken." She turned to walk away and Rick made to follow. She spun on her heel, her boots scraping on the ground as she did so.

"And you're wrong." She added. She met Rick's eyes in a firm stare, but she had lost most of the aggressiveness. Now there was solace, and something that might have been pain in her eyes. "Daryl does question. More than you give him credit for."

Rick came back into the warehouse to rejoin the others for a little social time before everyone would bed down for the night. Daryl was sitting off by himself as usual and though it was routine, it made Rick wonder what really had happened, and if he should be concerned. Shane didn't miss the look on his friend's face.

"What you worried about?" he asked.

"Fox." He answered honestly. Lying to his friend had never been something he was good at. It had never been something he was good at period.

Keeping secrets was a different story.

"Yeah…I been thinking about that too." Shane said, running a hand through the back of his hair.

"She says she's planning on staying with us." Rick explained.

"And you're alright with that? We don't even know her, Rick. What's to stop her from trying to hurt one of us if she decided to take off at the last second and needed supplies? Think about Lori. Carl. She's packing heavy gear and she ain't exactly tried to make friends." Shane's dark eyes burned with sparks deep in the back of his pupils. Rick knew that look. He'd seen it on men he would never have dared to call friend, and it made his spine twitch uneasily.

"Glenn told me that he and Daryl would have never made it out of the city alive if it hadn't been for her. She scavenged off us to survive. I'm not going to hold her hostage to that forever. She risked her life to help Lori." He sounded exhausted and worn to the bone but his eyes were still strong.

"Then what are you worried about?" Shane demanded. There was something clearly unsettling Rick but Rick was good at keeping personal pain to himself. He always had been. But Shane knew him too well to believe the façade.

"She's dead set on getting under Daryl's skin. And I want to know why." Rick finally said.

"Who cares? Personally I wouldn't want to know." Shane muttered, a thin hint of disgust between his words.

"Well I do. Next to her, Daryl is the most volatile of the group. We may not like him but we need him. Glenn was right. If he can't hunt, we can't stay fed. If he takes off somewhere or loses his temper and hurts someone…I don't want to deal with the consequences of that."

"You mean the way he damn near killed me?" Shane growled. His voice was low, and his eyes burned. It was clear he had not forgotten the way Rick had just let Daryl walk scot free from their spat back at the quarry.

"I heard what you said. You provoked him." Rick answered. He felt uncomfortable doing so, but he wasn't going to back down, not now. He would however try to smooth the situation over, at least temporarily. He turned to his friend and cracked a thin smile. "Remember that time we found a rat in the back of one of the classrooms in high school? Everybody told you to leave it alone but you…you poked it until it came flying at you."

"Took a freaking chunk out of my nose." Shane said, laughing a little at the memory, running his fingers over his hair.

"Exactly. I know you and Daryl don't see eye to eye and I get that. I don't see eye to eye with him on much either." Rick replied. The laughter died but he was calm now. "I won't let you and Daryl fight anymore. One way or the other." He said.

Shane nodded quietly, pacified for the moment. "Did you find anything else while we were at the CDC? When we split up?"

Rick fell silent, the memory raw and still bleeding in his mind. The CDC had been a massive sprawl of an underground complex, labs and hallways and locked doors everywhere, darkness lit by white flashlights, cold air and close quarters. They'd spread out to try and cover more ground once they'd gotten inside. He'd gone all the way to the bottom of the complex, and he'd found something inside one of the labs. Something that disturbed him so greatly at first he thought that to take it might start a war. All the reports said that everyone was dead- but he knew that wasn't the case. He and his group were alive. Others were too. And others would want what he had found, and some instinct deep inside told him that if he didn't do something about what he had found he wasn't going to like the outcome. And for better or worse, he had made his choice and it was with him now.

"No." he told Shane quietly. "Just more pieces of paper with lab test numbers on them. I don't even know if it was related to the plague." The exhaustion in his voice covered up the thin splinters of the lie cracking the words.

Shane nodded, having no reason to distrust his friend. "Alright. Well, I'm off, gonna try and get some rest, we've got a lot of ground to cover in the morning." He clapped his friend on the shoulder before getting up and going to where his sleeping bag was stretched out. It was just a hair too close to Lori and Carl for Rick's liking, but there wasn't much he could say about it. If something should happen, Shane would be all the closer to protect them, and really that was all that mattered. He had to keep telling himself that. It was the only way he could stand to look him in the eye sometimes.

He wanted to pretend he wasn't sure why he didn't tell Shane about what he found. Shane was a member of the group- his best friend. They had risked their lives for each other more than once, even before the world ended. Why wouldn't he trust him with what he had found? He looked back at where Shane was laying feeling a stirring in his chest, a burning, something constricting and almost violent.

He knew why. Because Shane knew that while Rick might seem righteous and protective and benevolent, there was still a part of him that was animal like, that would fight, maybe even kill, to keep what was his close to him. His wife and son. Shane knew it, and Rick knew it too. It was obvious to Rick that Shane had been staking a claim to Lori and Carl for a long time now, and he knew eventually he would have to confront his friend. He wanted that confrontation to be peaceful. To be with words and emotions. But he had a terrible feeling deep inside that one or both of them would spill blood over it. Society and its constraints were gone. If Rick killed Shane to defend what was his…there would be no police to come and arrest him, no judge and jury to sentence him. And if Shane killed him and took what he had taken from the CDC for his own…what would he do with the group? Where and how would he lead them? Would he turn them into an army, with him as its dictator? So many scenarios spilled over into his mind's eye that it hurt his head to just think about it.

There was nothing to be done about it now. He would have to confront Shane eventually, but now wasn't that time. He hauled his exhausted frame to curl up next to Lori, Carl within an arms reach. He kissed the back of his wife's neck and smiled when she gave a soft, pleased sound. Sleep crawled through him like warm water soaking into his skin and he gave himself up to his dreams, too tired to fight it anymore.

When they woke the next morning there was a certain measure of uneasiness in the group. No one was really sure what the plan was, and Daryl was beginning not to care. It didn't really matter where they went, they would always be pursued by a never ending army of flesh eating monsters. It would only be a question of how far ahead they could get before they would eventually catch up. They would always catch up.

"I know that it's still warm out right now, but it won't be long until winter gets here. We need to find a place to stay for when the cold weather gets serious. Outside of Atlanta are all kinds of old farm houses and plantations, many of them with generators and wells on the property to provide water and power to the houses on the land. I say we find one suitable for our needs and stay there. We have enough manpower to provide patrols to keep a tab on any Walkers that might be in the area and once we get settled in, we can start making fortifications to the property."

"It doesn't matter what we do. They will always find us. And they will always tear their way in. We can't stop them." Andrea's voice was broken and despondent. Dale reached for her and tried to put his arm around her shoulder but Andrea shook him away. Daryl could understand. After her sister's death, she didn't have a lot left to live for, but he wasn't going to pretend that the thought of suicide didn't disturb him at a deep level. If you were weak enough to consider taking your own life then you weren't one of the ones meant to survive, and it would only be a matter of time before something else got you. Either your own hand, or in this day and age, a dead one, with a mouth of ravenous teeth attached.

"We can. And we will." Rick said firmly. "We can't just keep running. We have to find a place for ourselves, to rebuild our lives. Societies collapse, wars are fought, world's end. But we have never stopped surviving as a species. We can and we will find a place to suit our needs. And we will make for ourselves what the world has tried to take."

Lori wound her fingers through Rick's and squeezed his hand tightly. Daryl scanned the group looking for Fox. She was on the other side of the group, watching Rick with something that was close to approval in her eyes, but not quite.

"We head west in a single file formation. I'll take the lead. Let's move out." Rick ordered.

The group broke up and started gathering their things. Daryl had just finished rolling his sleeping bag and tucking it into the satchel on his bike when he felt more than saw Fox approach him from behind. It was clear to him what she wanted, but he wasn't feeling so open towards her, not after last night.

"I'm not going to apologize." She said softly. "It won't do me any good."

"Got that right." He growled as he finished strapping his saddlebag closed and tucking his gun into the back of his pants.

"But I am going to ask that you let my choices be mine and reflect on me, not me and you together."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "What's that supposed to mean? That I'm supposed to forget you tried to freaking molest me last night and when I pushed you off you go and fuck Glenn? Forget that you used him like a cheap piece of meat just to piss me off; get something through your head. There's no you and me. There's just you getting in my face, and I'm damn tired of it." He really was tired of it. Playing these stupid games with her sapped his strength just like the Georgia sun.

She paused for a second and he could see the cogs spinning in her head, deciding whether to keep pushing or let it go. To her credit she had enough balls to just keep going and plunge straight over the cliff.

"Fine. There's no you and me. And I'm not asking you to forget." She said, and still there was no apology and no softness to her, but there was honesty and he could appreciate that, even now. "But let what I did be about me and not you."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What the hell does that mean? You didn't screw him to get back at me?" He felt like she was playing foxy games with him and it was really starting to piss him off. This is why he didn't deal with women. They could never just be straightforward and clear.

"It wasn't about you. At least not nearly as much as you think it was." She told him. The tension filled knot in his chest where his heart sat began to loosen, but at the same time it felt like other strings were being pulled, dragging him places he had no desire to go.

"But there was still some of that spiteful bitch in it, right?" he asked. There was no apology, and his voice was still hard like the razor edge of a blade, but they were pressed for time. The others were piling into their cars and he knew what she'd come to him for. He hadn't forgiven her, but there was still something in him (and damn whatever it was) that couldn't get over how even now, as she stood there bold as brass after what she'd done, he still liked looking back over his shoulder and seeing her there. Fuck, maybe it was actually something about the way she had the balls to stand there and the bravery to still come crawling back after what she'd done. Glenn had made every effort to stay well away from him as though he expected Daryl to rip him to pieces. He'd thought about it briefly, but then discarded the idea. This hadn't been Glenn's doing. It was hers, and Glenn had just happened to be the warm body she'd culled away from the group. In some ways she had used the kid just as much as she was using him.

"Yeah." She admitted, still looking him in the face with unrepentant green eyes. "But for now, all I'm asking is for you to let me save face in front of them. You can have what you want from me in exchange, I don't care." The fact she admitted he needed his help surprised him, and that she offered him basically anything that he could want from her even stranger. Did she not understand that the world didn't work via business transactions?

But he didn't have to ask her to explain what she meant by saving face. If he didn't let her ride with them and she had to ask for room in someone else's car, they would know she'd lost her ally, and they might turn on her. She'd barely made it out of the quarry with them days ago, and that was only because he was the only one willing to take her. He wasn't as willing as he had been then, and there was a part of him that said she deserved to have to feel their guilt and their anger. The only thing stopping him from letting that happen was he knew how quickly she could fuck up a precarious situation and that could leave her stranded. So, against what might have been his better judgment, he made his decision.

He didn't care anyway, right? She meant as much to him as any of the other people traveling with them, which wasn't much more than a group of humanity facing extinction, and they needed every warm body on their side to help each other stay alive.

"Get on." He said as he swung up on his bike. She did so, and he could feel the way she tried to hold on as loosely as possible. He let the engine roar to life and felt her slip a little as he started forward.

"I'm not gonna throw you off for holding on. Just don't try anything weird. Had enough of that shit for one day." He muttered.

He swore he felt her laugh as her arms snaked around his midsection and squeezed as they took off after the convoy of vehicles.


	15. Chapter 15

**_Merry Christmas Eve my lovelies! I hope this finds you safe and sound and happy, keeping close with those you love. =)_**

**CreepyDaisy**: _Oh my! What did Rick find? Its something more important than "we are all infected?, right? Please update again soon, I can't wait to see what you prepared! _

It is both more, and different, than the original bombshell dropped in the show I can assure you that ;)

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Good update! As always!_

Wonderful! I'm glad I keep bringing you back for more =)

**Emerald Gaze**: _I kind of wish she had actually explained her views on sex with him though at the same time I get that she just sees it that way and may not even get that other people see it differently. I wonder if she expects him to go through with asking her for something in return. Also i'm really looking forward to when they can actually share their views on sex and are comfortable enough to do so amongst other things!_!_

Part of the reason why Fox didn't bother trying to explain/justify what she did was because she knows she deliberately hurt Daryl and doesn't want to make excuses, even if it might help her or be a legitimate issue. She does expect him to ask her for something in return but she's very unsure as to what that might be. She's not against sharing her opinions about sex or anything else with him for that matter, but she's keeping her cards in her deck until he asks so to speak.

**FanFicGirl10**: _I have a feeling that when Fox and Daryl have sex she will care and love the body underneath hers and she will love it ;) And it will make a difference between Daryl and Glenn! LOL. I loved this chapter and I love that Fox trusts Daryl and Glenn the most. Update Soon!_

Mmm, well, if/when they ever hit that point, I think they would both enjoy it very much ;) And it would make a difference, mostly for Fox, between Daryl and Glenn, lol. She does trust them the most, both because of what's happened in camp, and them getting out of Atlanta together.

**Emberka-2012**: _Rick is more observant than I thought. I liked his conversation with Fox. Good that Daryl thought over his feelings about Fox. He will not play with her in her games or be jealous of Glenn. But her attitude to sex he does not understand. _

Rick is definitely more observant than he lets on, but his emotional aspect that gets in the way. Because deep down, Rick is looking for peace and resolution, but there is such a long road to go and the pressure is hard to manage. Fox is just another wrench in the mix that's unsettling things, but he knows she has valuable skills which is why he's willing to vouch for her in the group. But Fox has not interest in taking orders from him, which causes friction between the two. And yes, while Daryl was briefly jealous, most of his aggravation comes from not from being jealous of Glenn, but that he cares what Fox does- that she can make him feel things he otherwise wouldn't, and as we all know, Daryl is not so good with feelings. He'll come to understand her in time, but not for a while.

**mrskaz453**: _Rick is one smart cookie… I'm glad he told Fox that he wouldn't stand for her pitting Daryl against Glenn…. It's what she is doing whether she cares or not…or realizes it or not… I want to like her…because your story is so well-written and interesting, but I'm just not there yet…I'm trying, but her attitude is something to be desired…for me anyway, LOL. I like that she's a baddass, a hardass, that she doesn't take anyones crap, but she has no heart…IDK if I'm explaining this right…she's hard, bad, but she just doesn't care or doesn't seem to care…does that make sense…probably not…LOL. I really was hoping that Daryl would tell her to take a hike…go find a ride with Glenn since she already rode him…Sorry, still not happy with her using Glenn and hope that Glenn isn't stupid enough to continue down that road of being her escape…because he deserves better than that…and he doesn't need to get into it with Daryl over her…I was shocked that Daryl didn't knock Glenn on his ass…but glad that he didn't all the same… In a weird way I like this story, but not the OC.. at least not yet…Probably because I'm a major Daryl/Glenn fan and she is an issue with both my fans…could be my bias…LOL. The only thing I can be sure of is that I'm going to continue reading and hope that your OC grows on me…because I like everything about this story and I did like her in the beginning….so hopefully, I'll start liking her again…Nice update…Oh yeah, Rick's secret is driving me nuts…LOL_

Rick is definitely a smart cookie. And he doesn't want there to be any more conflict in the group than there already is, especially with two of its most valuable members- Daryl for his ability to hunt and track, and Glenn for being able to think on his feet and his skill at scavenging supplies even in crowded overrun places like Atlanta. In a sense she is pitting Daryl and Glenn, and she is aware that could happen, but she's banking on it not. And I understand, I wrote Fox to be hard to like, which is why I was so surprised when most people did. When I was sketching out her character I figured that most people would have your response, but I'm keeping her honest so to speak- she's stubborn and unyielding except for when its been earned and so the mental chess game between her and Daryl and the rest of the group continues. And Daryl's response of him still letting her ride with him was a calculated judgement on my part as a writer. I went back through the show and from what I could tell his main attitude is that the world has ended so petty games and old habits don't really matter so much anymore, and especially since Merle's not there to remind him of how he used to be, I could see him having a change of heart- this also applies to why he didn't knock Glenn on his ass. That and he knows this was Fox's doing, Glenn wouldn't have gone to her like that. And don't worry, Glenn might have lost himself for a minute, but he knows better than to keep going down this rode- she's a train wreck in the wrong hands, and despite her cavalier attitude, she can take a lot before she starts looking for ways out. And I'm glad you'll stick with it, it won't be much longer before Fox gets wrenched sideways emotionally and so you'll see a deeper, less stubborn/abrasive side to her. It'll still be there, because its part of who she is, but there's definitely depth there. She just takes a long time to show it. And yes, Rick's secret. Ooooh the secret. I can't wait to show you guys what it is, but all good things in time =)

**X23 Maximoff**: _Oh the sweet joy I had when I returned from my travels to find TWO chapters waiting for me of this wonderful story! And I looooooved both of them. I mean, Fox was soooo super saucy with Glenn! I love it! And I love his bumbling awkwardness before, during, and after. He's so adorable. And terrified of Daryl. And I adore the interactions between Fox and Daryl. He's so pissed at her, and he's trying not to be just because that would mean that she actually means something to him…brilliant! Whether they know it or not they are both playing a super intense game of mental chess. Or mental swordplay. Or a little of both. It's very obvious at first…then you start reading the subtitles. And it gets so much more intense when you start reading the subtitles. AND THEN RICK AND SHANE. Oh my pants, Rick and Shane. To me, they're playing a game of Jenga. One wrong move, and the whole thing is going to collapse. I love it. It's amazing. I want to know what Rick found at the CDC. Tell me please? Ok cool thanks :) Wonderful chapter(s) Please update soon! -XM_

Fox is saucy, sassy, and all things dangerous in every sense of the word, lol. And poor Glenn, it is not everyday he's being pounced on by someone like her. I'm sure if she'd been a little more gentle he could have been more graceful XD but there's not much time for wining and dining in the zombie apocalypse, lol. Not that Fox would ever actually stay with someone like Glenn long term. She needs more of a fight, which is why she is so attached to Daryl for there's is indeed a mental sword fight. I try to describe their back and forth moves but I also leave some to interpretation to the readers- the subtitles of which you speak. I'm glad it seems to be going as planned ;) And oh yes, Rick and Shane. I absolutely love their dynamic because you can clearly see both of them, not just Rick, still trying to hold onto how they used to be before the world ended. But you're right. One false move, one little thing off balance, and everything is going to fall to pieces. Shane of course as we know is the more aggressive of the two, but Rick won't let him take what's his. We shall see where this goes in my new plot, influenced also by what Rick found at the CDC, which is much more than just that they're all infected. Can't say more than that though ;) You'll just have to read and find out!

* * *

It was high noon on the highway when the convoy finally stopped. Daryl killed the engine to his bike after rolling up towards the others, wondering why they were stopping now. All around them were abandoned, busted cars, Walker bodies rotting in the sun, flesh drying up like fruit left to decay outside. Fox climbed off the bike with him as well, and he let her go forward and didn't try to stop himself from watching the way she walked, and the way her new knives burned like white fire in the relentless Georgia sun.

"What's going on?" Glenn asked as he climbed out of one of the other vehicles. Everybody else was piling out as well, gathering around Rick who was at the head of the column.

"RV's breaking down." Rick said and already Dale was going around to the front of the RV to pop the hood.

"Can you fix it?" Rick asked the old man as Dale nosed around in the engine, trying to get a better view of the problem.

"The hose is shot. The one that it has wasn't designed for the RV. One of the cars on the highway probably has something more suitable." He wiped the sweat beading on his brow away and began to scan for cars or trucks that he could use for parts.

"Already everybody fan out, start scavenging for supplies, stay within earshot!" Rick ordered. Fox dared to follow behind Daryl who was already picking his way through the vehicles. She kept her distance behind him, moving on soft, light feet even with her heavy boots.

"Stop stalking me." Daryl growled, turning around to face her.

She snorted. "Feeling threatened?" she teased and while there was genuine humor in her voice, there was also a less innocent edge.

"Maybe a little trigger happy." He hissed, letting his finger caress the trigger on his crossbow. He wasn't aiming it at her, but it wasn't down at his side either.

Her eyes narrowed and a dangerous smile played with her lips. She said nothing, just moved past him, swaying her hips deliberately, letting her thigh brush his as she moved past him, and he cursed the way his skin tingled, even through his jeans, at the contact. She slid past him and started to paw through the cars, looking for supplies.

"What the hell is wrong with you girl?" he asked, mostly to himself but she was close enough that she heard.

She shrugged as she picked up an empty first aid kit and tossed it aside. "What the hell is wrong with you? All the men I've ever met in my life have never treated me the way you have." There was something suspicious in the way she wouldn't look at him and so he moved closer.

"What you mean by that?"

She pulled her head out of the front seat of a car, finding nothing in it worth taking, and stared at him. A hot gust of wind rolled over the highway and ruffled her hair, pushing it around her face. She didn't even try to move it away as her eyes found his.

"Men come in two varieties with me. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, or get the hell away from me you crazy bitch. You're certainly not the former, but you're not quite the latter either. So don't think you're the only one feeling off balance."

The way she said it so factually, so simply, and hit it so hard on the head almost made him stagger. But true to form, she kept going and ruined it.

"First you hunt me. Then you take care of me. And then you push me away. So what the hell am I supposed to think about you?"

He shrugged. "Whatever you want." He muttered. For some reason that made her laugh and his confusion meter cracked the mental ceiling and he could only stare as she walked away to keep looking for supplies.

They were about fifty yards from where their convoy was parked when they heard a shriek. Immediately Daryl whipped around to where the sound had come from, holding his crossbow at the ready while Fox unsheathed one of her new knives, holding it in front of her defensively. They watched some of their members began to converge near the tree line and they both jogged back to see what was happening.

A pair of Walkers were chasing someone from the trees. T-dog came running forward and bashed one in the head with a baseball bat while Rick picked up a crowbar from Dale's toolbox and whacked the other one as hard as he could. Chips of bone scattered everywhere as blood and brain matter began to smear into the ground while Daryl saw what the Walkers had been chasing.

Two young women, dirty and sweating and shaking, had staggered over the protective guard rail and onto the highway, near to tears from having just run for their lives. One was a twenty something brunette with short cropped hair and an exhausted but relieved expression on her face. The other was a younger blonde, probably a teenager, that was huddled into the brunette's chest.

"Are you two alright?" Rick asked as he and T-dog came from back from the tree line towards the road.

"Yeah, we're fine…thank you. We were out of bullets." The brunette panted as she helped her companion to stand upright.

"No problem. You two out here alone?" Rick asked as Shane also came running up from where he'd been collecting some supplies. Carl and Lori were in tow as well, cautiously coming forward to inspect the new comers.

"Yes. Our vehicle broke down about five miles from here." The brunette's voice was less shaky and she spoke with a thick Southern drawl, telling Daryl that she was likely local. The little blonde was still huddled into the girl's chest like a frightened child. "We were trying to find the highway to get another car when those…things…came after us." She paused for a minute and surveyed them all with wary, suspicious eyes. "I'm Maggie, and this is my little sister, Beth."

Rick nodded glancing over the two girls carefully. "Well Maggie, Beth, you're welcome to look for supplies with us. One of our vehicles broke down as well. We'll be on the move again as soon as its fixed, but you can rest and resupply with us for a while." His voice was gentle and his eyes were soothing.

"Thank you. Need to rest for a minute, we came along way in this heat." She answered and slid down to the ground with her sister in the shade provided by one of the cars. Carol offered both of them one of their bottles of water and Daryl watched as Fox shook her head and turn on her heel.

"I get hung up in a tree and they get the welcome wagon." She muttered.

"You were stealing from us."

It was Shane who answered her retort. He was blocking her path towards another string of vehicles she hadn't looked through yet. Undaunted she moved past him, Daryl following some ways behind. Shane didn't let up his pursuit and Daryl was content to stand back and watch what was going to happen.

"I was surviving at the expense of your idiocy. And to my knowledge, Rick's only been with you people for a few weeks, and before he showed up, you were leader here, so if you've got a problem with what I took, that's your fault, dumbass." She retorted.

"You better watch your pretty mouth girl. Rick might think you're harmless, but I got your number. You just better watch it." Shane growled low in his throat.

Fox whirled around him and at first Daryl thought she might backhand him. Instead she flicked her wrist and Daryl thought she had thrown one of her knives but there was no sound of impact. Shane however flinched instinctively and began to check around himself after a second but seeing nothing let out a shaky sigh of relief.

"Gotcha." Fox hissed, a dangerous, menacing undercurrent in her voice. "So let's get one thing straight, Shane. _You_ better watch it."

She turned on her heel and stalked away and Daryl made to follow her. As he passed Shane sneered to him "She's your match made in heaven, man. Good luck." He turned and walked away and Daryl gazed after Fox who was rifling through another car. There was a lot he was tempted to ask her, but he knew now wasn't the time, that she was still riled up at this point. He would have to wait until she was calmer before he could even begin to get through her prickly shell.

"What you looking at?" she asked him as he came within earshot although her tone wasn't unfriendly.

"A helluva gambling woman." He tilted his head at her, trying to see if she really had been teasing Shane, or actually threatening him. She snorted with laughter and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, the silver bar pierced there flashing in the Georgia sun, its glare almost blinding.

"I like my odds." She told him, smiling with her eyes again as she turned and walked away.

It was almost evening by the time Dale was able to get the RV going again. There'd only been a few Walkers here and there while they'd been on the highway and though it'd only been a couple, Daryl was beginning to feel very exposed. When Dale was finally able to get the RV's engine going he couldn't stop the flare of relief that went through him.

"Alright, we keep going, we gotta find somewhere to stop for the night. Now Maggie, you said you know a place?" Rick asked, turning to the brunette girl who hadn't moved very far from her sister the entire time they'd been on the highway.

"Yeah, there's an old plantation house about ten miles up the road. Beth and I were headed the way because the generator at our house broke down. Dad was always the one who knew how to fix things…" she trailed off and stared at the ground while Beth sobbed softly, leaning into her sister.

"Can you lead us there?" Shane asked.

Maggie nodded, recovering her composure. "Yes. And there's plenty of room for y'all to stay. It's not exactly fortified for the end of the world…but if you helped us, we could make it work."

"Thank you." Rick said softly but very sincerely. He could see the relief stealing its way over Lori's face, and Carol's too, as she pulled Sophia closer to her. The little girl wriggled her way out of her mother's grasp and went to find Carl to tell him the good news while the others began to pack up what supplies they'd managed to find, another first aid kit, more food and water, gasoline, a machete, and an ax. Fox followed Daryl back to his bike and climbed on behind him.

"Maybe there is a God after all." She said quietly as he kicked the engine to life.

"Maybe there is." He muttered turning and falling in line with the convoy.

The sun was turning the land to gold when they turned off the highway and onto a lonely side street. There was no signs of Walkers or any life at all, and for a while, Daryl could pretend that the world hadn't ended. It was just like Georgia had always been. Slow, hot, and lazy, the slightly cooled air from the evening soothing some of the intense heat of the day as the wind began to pick up with the promise of rain. Heat lightening flashed in the distance, lighting up bruising purple clouds in small but continuous pulses. Fox was actually leaning into him now, letting her cheek rest against his shoulder blade and her arms to entwine around his abdomen. The embrace was somewhat more intimate than he would have liked, but it was also kind of nice as well. Nice in the way he liked the way it felt, but he had no idea what to do next. Kids made him feel like that too. He didn't mind them as a general rule, but he had no idea how to behave around them.

They turned off of the paved road and began to follow a dirt track lined with huge oak trees that opened up after about two hundred yards into a wide grassy green lawn and a massive house. It was so large it looked like one of the real old style plantations like from the movie _Gone With The Wind_. He'd never been anywhere near a house this nice before, and as he parked his bike near the front porch with the others, he wolf whistled.

"Damn. Nice digs." He said, glancing over at Maggie who was climbing out of the RV with Beth, Glenn, Dale, Carol, and Sophia.

"Thanks. It was my grandfather's." she said before beginning to help the others unpack and take their stuff to the house.

"Not bad at all." Fox said as she shouldered her backpack. "My mom and I broke into a house like this once during a Christmas party. She was halfway through a bottle of really good champagne and I was in the closet making out with the son of the house's owner when they finally realized we weren't supposed to be there and chases us out." She laughed at the memory, letting her fingers tussle her hair as she pushed it away from her face.

Daryl watched as she hopped up on the large porch, the awning of which was supported by six massive white pillars several stories tall. The grey wood of the porch was still solid and only creaked a little as everyone's feet began to shuffle across it and to the door, dragging supplies inside once Maggie had unlocked it with a key procured from her pocket.

When he stepped inside he couldn't help but stare in appreciation and a little bit of marvel. The ceiling of the front hall vaulted up high, a crystal chandelier hanging down, the crystals dusty but still ornate. Maggie led them through the hall and off to the first room to the left which was a huge living room filled with leather furniture, several wood cabinets with what looked like expensive trinkets inside, and a large black wood piano in one of the corners. Large windows were covered in a thin film of dust but offered a beautiful view to the lawn and trees outside which swayed in the breeze and glowed deep green as the sun began to fade behind the large evening storm clouds. Spanish moss hung down like locks of hair, blowing in the breeze that was picking up.

Daryl turned away from the windows to help the others as they hauled in all of the supplies, including the food and water they had collected along the road. Maggie stood in the center to start directing where things should go.

"Down the hall, second door on the right is the kitchen. I'll go around the back and get the generator going. Upstairs are the bedrooms and most of the bathrooms. The one at the end of the hall to the left is mine and Beth's, the others are all fair game for anyone who wants them. Third floor is the attic, I have no idea what's in there. Grandpa was always a bit of a hoarder…" she trailed off and gladly accepted a drink of water that her sister provided.

"What's off that way?" Shane asked, indicating to the slice of a room off to the left that Daryl could also see.

"A lounge that leads to the library in behind of it. The dining room is behind the kitchen and in the very back of the ground floor is a more casual place to eat."

Rick turned to Maggie, hands on his hips, glancing once at the vaulted ceiling and the chandelier before looking back at her.

"Thank you for taking us in. Do you mind if we do a walk through of the house and make sure nothing's here?"

She shook her head. "Go ahead."

Rick motioned for Shane, Daryl, and Glenn to follow him. Fox came as well, a giddy expression on her face for some reason. They all withdrew their weapons and began to spread out through the house, Daryl and Fox taking the upstairs, going up the large staircase that was directly in front of the hall door and fanned out into a small catwalk before disappearing into hallways that led to the bedrooms.

They carefully cleared each one, marveling at the extravagance of the house. Rich wooden floors, silk bed sheets, four-poster beds, bathrooms with marble or granite counter tops and stainless steel fixtures attached to most of the bedrooms, along with large closets. Most of the closets were empty but a few had old clothes or boxes full of personal objects stacked in them.

In the last room they cleared Fox actually chirped with delight when she saw a guitar leaning up against the wall in the corner beneath the large bay window. She set her knife down on the window seat and immediately picked the instrument up, strumming the strings cautiously, as though it might draw something out from the corners of the house. When nothing happened, her face broke into a huge smile.

"You play?" he asked her as he finally took a load off his feet and sat down on the bed. The mattress gave slightly beneath his weight and for the first time he began to feel slightly self-conscious about how long it had been since he'd had a chance to wash up with clean water.

She nodded and began to mess with the silver pegs at the head of the guitar, picking the strings until the sounds changed to satisfy her. "Before the world went to hell, I had the idea in my head I'd be a rock star."

She plucked the strings in a sharp, fast melody, her fingers pressing down and shifting on the guitar's neck like she'd been doing it all her life. It was hard and fast and reminded him almost of a drum- as much as a guitar could sound like a drum anyway.

"That's good." He told her and she actually tilted her head down, her hair falling in a curtain around her face, and he realized with a kick of surprise, that he'd made her feel shy.

"I've missed it." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, and for only the second time he'd known her, he saw moisture gather in her eyes. She laughed nervously as if to cover up the fact she'd just been about to cry and looked away from him, staring out the window, her fingers still on the guitar's strings.

She seemed content to stay that way, slowly strumming, making different sounds with the strings, occasionally tapping her foot or humming very softly. It was a good sound and he wouldn't have minded listening for longer but he heard footsteps coming down the hall and slowly tensed. She did as well, looking up from her playing but relaxing when she saw Glenn.

"They're making dinner downstairs. And Maggie brought out the wine. Better get it before it's gone!"

He skittered out of sight again as if too excited to contain his energy. Fox snorted with laughter and got up, sheathing the knife she'd set aside and gripping the guitar, following Daryl out the door.

When they reached the kitchen Daryl had to do another double take. The kitchen alone was half the size of the house he and his brother used to share. He wolf whistled at the stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops but his stomach growled loudly when he detected the smell of cooking meat. Lori was standing at the stove while Carol and Beth worked at the large island in the middle of the kitchen cutting vegetables and making small talk.

"That was my grandfather's guitar." Maggie said, nodding towards Fox who still held the instrument, gently letting it rest against her booted foot. Her eyes were a little tense, as though it wasn't quite kosher with her that someone was touching her family's belongings. Daryl waited to see if Fox would challenge her or would be respectful. In the end, she hit a middle ground.

"It plays beautifully. He obviously took care of it." She said.

Maggie nodded and a small smile crept up onto her lips. "Dad could play a little, but it was really Grandfather who could do it well." Her eyes grew a little sad but Beth gently leaned into her shoulder and she recovered herself.

Just then T-dog and Shane appeared, several bottles of wine in their arms, and Glenn had a bottle of whiskey that he was struggling to get into. They set the loot out on the island and soon the sound of chinking classes and laughter filled the room. The whiskey was good quality with just enough burn to wake up Daryl's mouth and throat in a delicious way. He found himself laughing out loud at the stupidest things, the alcohol loosening his iron grip on his emotional control. He began tease Glenn, daring him to down the rest of one of the wine bottles in one go, the conflict between him and Fox forgotten in a warm alcohol induced haze. He'd remember in the morning he was fairly certain, but for now, with the alcohol to soothe him, he could forget. The Asian did his best to rise to the challenge but choked and sputtered right before he was done. Shane clapped him hard on the back while his face flushed as red as the wine and Daryl howled with laughter. He took another drink out of the bottle, every shot easing more and more of his tension.

Fox was drinking as well, but she was also doing shots of whiskey. He had taken her for someone who would drink wine or fruity chick drinks like the ones Maggie and Carol were drinking but every so often she would reach for the whiskey bottle and pour herself another shot. After a while she lost the courtesy of using her own shot glass and just drank from the bottle. They sat next to each other on the kitchen counter, passing it back and forth. Occasionally she would steal glances at him and he would send her some as well, not so bothered by the slight mischievous light in her eye anymore.

"Maggie, we really cannot thank you enough." Rick said after they all had eaten and drunk their fill. Dinner had been the rest of the venison and fresh vegetables, and of course plenty of alcohol and for the first time in as long as he could remember Daryl actually felt happy. It wasn't a feeling he was used to and it actually took him a long time to find a name for what the feeling was. The warmth bubbling in his veins, the way he felt just a little giddy when he looked at the people around him, the amazement that they'd made it here and they were alive despite the death of the world outside.

"Thank you for letting my sister and I stay with your group. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like." She reiterated. They all raised their glasses and cheered, drinking their fills again before they all at last decided to stagger up to their different rooms.

Shane watched as Lori and Carl made their way upstairs and he took another drink out of the bottle of wine and started to follow them. The house was dark and the sounds of happy voices were softening as the group dispersed for the night, but hushed murmurs caught his attention.

He turned down one of the darkened halls and paused just around the corner, listening intently, wondering what he might be about to intrude on. Though his senses were somewhat dulled by the amount of alcohol he'd had at dinner, he could still make out Rick's voice. At the moment it was muffled and unintelligible. His interest peaked, Shane peered around the corner and saw two figures, one obviously Rick, standing very close to each other, the second shadowy form reaching out to help steady Rick. He never had been able to keep his balance after hitting the bottle hard.

"You have to take this." Rick panted. "You have to."

"Why me?"

Shane knew that voice. It was the voice that had conflicted him so much over the past week or so. It belonged to a hot-tempered red head that after several shots of sixty proof alcohol had begun to become very attractive in his eye. He wondered if perhaps the alcohol would smooth her down and make her more receptive to company besides that of Daryl Dixon. Why she stuck close to that man Shane would never understand. Daryl existed only on the fringes of the group as it was, if she really wanted to stay here permanently, he'd of thought she'd try making friends with some of the other people in camp. His train of thought was silenced when he heard his friend speak again.

"You're the only one that will do what's necessary when the time comes." Rick's voice was broken, barely forcing the words out.

"Rick, you're drunk. Go to bed and ask me again in the morning." Fox said. They started to come up the hall towards Shane and he was about to beat a retreat when their shuffling stopped. He turned and looked around the corner again and saw that Rick had slumped to the floor. Fox knelt down to him taking his face in her hands gently, forcing him to look up at her. He fought her grip but only halfheartedly.

"I know I'm drunk, but my head is clearer than it's been in so long. Just…let me do this…please. I can't…I can't keep everything together and this too. Please. I know how much I'm asking just…please." He sounded broken. Like he was literally about to fall to pieces right then and there.

Fox held his face gently in her hands, as though she might be about to kiss him. "Why me, Rick? Say it again." Her voice was soft, as if merely coaxing him to a place he already wanted to go.

He looked up at her and his voice was shaking when he answered. Shane had never seen him so close to tears before. "I can't…if something happens…I can't leave them. Not my family. Not the group. You…you're strong enough. You could get out. You're the only one who could. I can't. I can't leave them."

She was silent for a long moment. Eventually she leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes for a moment. "Very well." She answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rick pulled at his chest for a moment with his fingers until he lifted something from around his neck and pressed it into Fox's open palm. He pulled her close, forcing her head towards his own and whispered something in her ear, something too soft for him to make out. When he let her go she took what was in her hand and put it around her neck, tucking it beneath her shirt.

"Now, go upstairs. Lori needs you." Fox murmured. She helped Rick up to his feet and pushed him along the hall. He gained his footing easy enough and they both headed his way. Shane beat a hasty retreat, stealing into the large living room across the hall away from the staircase until they had both passed.

Fox watched from the bottom steps as Rick made his way up the stairs. His grip on the rail was tight, but when he got to the landing and looked back down at her, his eyes were clear, remarkably so, and she trusted his decision. She turned and walked down the hall and then out onto the porch to take advantage of the cool night air. She breathed in deep as the wind blew carrying with it the smells of the grass and moss and dry, dusty earth. Heat lightening flashed in the distance and she thought she heard a rumble of thunder. She sighed pleasantly and let herself lean against the railing of the porch, staring out into the inky darkness that was broken only by a wash of silver moonlight. It brought back so many memories, most of them so important they threatened to break her resolve. There was a part of her that wanted to run into the night and never look back, just run and run and run and never see another living soul again and just give herself over to the wilds. She would be free of the pain after a while and she wouldn't have to remember anymore. And there was a part of her that was trying to push its way free, to form a fledging bond of trust with these people she'd found. That bond was warm and soothing and was wrapping around her like a comforting embrace. She didn't want it to stop, but she was afraid of it pulling her down and holding her against her will. Her hands squeezed the railing of the porch as she tried to keep it together.

"You know, I'm beginning to think we got off on the wrong foot."

She spun around and was surprised when she saw Shane standing there. Her shoulders tensed but her voice remained cool.

"That is the understatement of the century." She said, and didn't bother to hide the disdain in her voice.

"Maybe we could start over." Shane said, a little trace of a bedroom drawl in his words and Fox couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? Get back inside, Shane, and I'll pretend you didn't do this in the morning." She turned away from him in a statement of careless bravery but she realized she'd made a mistake when she felt him swarm behind her and push against her, trapping her between his body and the railing.

"Oh come on now, don't be like that." He rumbled, his voice like the thunder that growled softly over their heads. He leaned his lips near her ear and let his hands encircle her lower back, skirting beneath the handle of her blades.

"Shane, back off right now before I make you regret ever setting foot outside." She snarled. She fisted a hand into his shirt and was starting to push him away but he pushed back against her, restraining one of her hands by grabbing her wrist and pushing it behind her while his other one trailed between her breasts and over her belly, sliding towards her groin, greedy fingers squeezing and gripping wherever they liked.

"Shane, get off!" Fox snarled, now fighting in earnest, but he was using his body weight against her, one of his feet stepping on hers to hold her down while he kept her one hand restrained. The other came up to try and claw him in the face but he snatched it and shoved it down towards his crotch and he grinned wickedly while he tried to kiss her, catching her lips between his teeth and biting a little, causing a jolt of pain to roll through her.

"Oh come on, I saw you and Daryl." He drawled in her ear as he rocked his hips against her, still pinning her down over the railing. "What the hell do you want with that redneck freak? You think he'll be the one to vouch for you when something goes wrong? Nah ah, you wanna stick around here, I think there needs to be a little give and take." He growled squeezing her crotch again his dark eyes sparking with lust like orange flames deep in darkness.

"Fuck you!" Her voice had spiraled upwards in volume and now she meant business. She thrashed underneath him and managed to get a knee into his gut, causing him to double over, still forcing himself on her but she got a hand free and whipped her stiletto out and slashed it clean across his shoulder and collar bone, a bloody red line appearing through his shirt. He cried out in pain but didn't ease up on her, instead grappling with her to take her knife away. She was struggling to keep it in her grasp while he bent her back so much over the railing of the porch that her spine screamed in protest. His hand fisted in her hair even as she writhed beneath him, struggling to get her feet or knees into the fight to really do some damage.

They crashed to the side, rolling with each other and now he was on top of her, her belly on the floor of the porch. She bucked and kicked out wildly, finally getting an elbow right in his eye socket causing him to jerk backwards. She was turning underneath him, trying to get her feet under her when all of a sudden the weight on her was gone.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing you piece of shit asshole?" The words were delivered with a menacing snarl of rage.

Fox scrambled to her knees away from Shane and saw Daryl standing over him having already thrown a heavy punch straight into his jaw. He reared his fist back for another, clocking Shane a good one in the nose, blood beginning to gush down his face.

"Wasn't doing anything!" Shane managed to say through bleeding teeth as he staggered up to his feet, leaning against the wall of the house.

"Bullshit!" Daryl snarled. He lunged for Shane again and grabbed him with both fists in the chest, slamming his head against the wall of the house hard enough to make Shane see stars.

"If you ever come near her again, if you ever even touch her just once more, I'll lynch you with your own guts, you got that?" Daryl struck him with his fist one more time, sending him in a three sixty spin and landing on the porch with a hard crashing sound. He scrambled to his feet and wiped the blood away from his face before holding up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, easy man. I wasn't doing nothing. We were just talking." Shane protested. Daryl took one step forward and Shane backed up several paces and Fox nodded in sharp approval.

"Fuck off Shane. Come near me again and Daryl won't get the chance to string you up because I'll do it myself." Daryl had never heard her so threatening. So savage. It sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine- in some ways it reminded him of the snarling of the chupacabra.

Shane looked like he wanted to say more, but with Daryl staring him down and Fox having a very firm grip on her buck knife, he decided to bail while all of his limbs were still attached. He went back into the house and shut the door and Fox dared to breathe again.

"Are you alright?" Daryl asked, turning towards her now, not even feeling the pain in his knuckles from where he'd struck Shane. Instead there was a fire burning in his veins, a longing for battle, something to take his frustration out on.

"Yeah. I'm ok." She said softly. She tucked her knife back in its sheathe on her hip. "He got the jump on me. I didn't think he'd do that. Even if he was shit-faced." She let out a shaking breath and Daryl slowly approached her.

"You sure you're ok?" he asked. He reached for her and she allowed him to gently turn her face in his hands, looking for bruises her scratches. He saw none and some of the rage that had taken over him was soothed.

"Yes. Thank you." She smiled at him now and it was genuine in such a deep way that it startled him. She reached for him and very cautiously took him by the hand. His skin tingled a little at the unfamiliar sensation, but the alcohol still running through his veins whispered that it was alright, that he should let her do this.

"Walk with me?" she asked. He couldn't find the words to answer so instead he just nodded. He could have pulled his hand free of her grasp but chose not too. There was something secure about it that she seemed to need, because she didn't let go of him, and so he allowed her that as she led him off the porch and further into the plantation property.

"Where are we going?" he asked as she continued to lead him into the shadows. The trees rustled in the breeze but the air smelled clean and he couldn't detect any sounds of Walkers. Even if there were, he had his gun tucked into his pants, and Fox had her knives. He was reasonably confident that the property was safe. They hadn't seen anything rolling in earlier.

"Just come with me." She said, turning to him and slowly walking backwards, still holding his hand, gently pulling him towards her.

"Hey. Are you sure you're ok?" Something had changed in her voice and in her eyes. They had grown incredibly sad very quickly, and her words had broken at the end.

"Stay with me tonight." She whispered. "Let me tell you what happened. Even if you don't care. Because I don't think I can't take being the only one who knows anymore."

He nodded, absolutely at a loss for words what to do or say. It wasn't that he didn't care- he'd been almost dying to know how the hell she'd ended up the way she was, but he didn't know exactly what he was supposed to do if she was looking at him for comfort. The world had ended in a brutal way, but that in and of itself hadn't really phased him. Yeah, dead people walking around trying to eat the living wasn't something you woke up to every day, but what did that matter? The world was brutal- you just let it go and moved on.

But it seemed to be enough for her, because she took him by the hand again and led him slowly past the house and into the trees that bordered the property, deep into the darkness, deep into the depths of the night.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Alright my dear ones, here you are, a long awaited chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Tell me all your thoughts when you make it to the end, its a little bit longer than most of the other chapters. _**

**FanFicGirl10**: _Yay! Daryl saved her from asshole Shane :) Fox what are you plannig to do to Daryl? Smut? ;) So Hershel is dead? I liked how you introduced Maggie and Beth :) I can't wait till the next chapter, Update Soon! *Merry Christmas :)_

Aye yes indeed, Hershel is dead. I debated on having him in my story or not and decided against it because it wouldn't work so well with my plot. The same with the whole Otis/Shane issue, I just decided to cut it out entirely in favor for something different ;) And we shall see what happens with Fox and Daryl eh ;) I'm glad you liked the way I brought in Maggie and Beth because I went through several different versions before deciding on this one.

**Emerald Gaze**: _I totally count that as a cliff hanger but at least it waited till the situation with shane was over. Seriously though i'm pretty sure everyone felt like shane would have the capacity to do something like that but i still didn't expect him to do it for some reason, but at least daryl showed upjust in time though i can't wait for the explaintion they'll have to give the group when they see shane in the morning and lets not forget fox's talk with daryl, this should be real good!_!_

Everybody knows that Shane is capable of something like that, and yet no one seems to think he would try it, because there is a part of Shane that isn't evil. I never really saw him as a villain, even towards the end of Season 2, just terribly misguided and overwhelmed. That doesn't absolve him of his actions though. Oh yes, the coming talk with Fox and Daryl, I have been waiting to bring this chapter to all of you for so long, trust me its not just been you guys dying for this, lol.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _Whoa. I just, I don't know how to respond to this chapter. I love it! What the heck did Rick give Fox?! I'm hanging on the edge of my seat here ahahaha! Anyway, have a good holiday! Can't wait for the next chapter!_

All things in time my friend ;) The holiday so far has been amazing, the city has been incredibly inspiring in so many ways. Very good for the Muse =)

**Emberka-2012**: _What Rick gave her? Shane showed his true colors. Good that Daryl came to the rescue. Just like a prince on a white horse. Or on a motorcycle. I like it better when Daryl and Fox are not exchanged acrid comments, but just quietly talking._

Lol, it is an ironic thing for him to do, and yet it suits him. I was really quite moved in the show when he spent so much time and effort in looking for Sophia- it wasn't just because he could track, he wanted to anyway, and he had been so aloof before then. Its fun to write their biting exchanges, but much deeper and more emotional when they are gentle towards each other. Both are rewarding.

**mrskaz453**: _Okay, you can so not leave it like this... .You did this on purpose didn't you... You wanted to leave me hanging, drive me nuts, and having me stalking this site for the next update...LOL Awesome update... I loved it... You showed another side of Fox that I didn't expect to see...something that made me feel sorry for her, scared for her... She's tough, a badass, but she can still hurt... Damn, your good...LOL Shane makes me sick... He's such a pig...I loved the way you wrote that part... Fox is a badass, but fighting off a man is hard, even for a badass... I hope he gets whats coming to him... Jackass...but he's a jackass that I love to hate... Crazy, I know.. I loved the ending of this chapter...not the part where you left me hanging, but I love that she trust Daryl enough to reveal something to him that the others don't know, something about herself or whatever, but she's letting Daryl know... Now, I want to know what that is and WTH did Rick tell her... Did anyone ever tell you that cliffhangers are not good for the heart...LOL BTW: Thanks for responding to our reviews... and explaining... It's appreciated and very helpful... Awesome update...Merry Christmas..._

I can be a touch evil with my cliff-hangers, but its all part of the charm of the story that I am trying to create. I've never really written much suspense or anything by the way of cliffhangers so I'm glad it seems to be working out the way I planned ;) Fox is indeed a badass and tough, but she was made that way out of various experiences which you will soon learn about, and underneath all of that stiff, abrasive scar tissue is someone vulnerable, not unlike Daryl to be honest. And indeed, fighting off a man is hard, especially when he's got the jump on you. Its been a long time coming and now its time that not just Daryl, but all of you, get to see who Fox really is. Very excited for that. And I love responding to my reviewers, I like to connect with my readers in any way I can and it does also help to clarify some of whats going on because I do leave things open for interpretation in the story. Merry late-Christmas to you too!

**veganmagase**: _I am really impressed with your interpretation of The Walking Dead world and I like how you have incorporated the characters and details from the show without it feeling forced but the plot line is very much your own. I tried reading this story before but it moved too slowly for me when Daryl was hunting the intruder but I'm very glad that I have revisited it. The character development is really blossoming and the plot is very engaging. And I was blown away in chapter 13 when Fox seduced Glenn. I totally didn't see that coming and I'm really excited for the next surprise, like what Rick intrust with Fox? Looking forward to reading more!_

I was a little worried that the beginning had been a little slow, but part of it was due to me really trying to cement who the characters were and the way they dealt with each other before Fox came in and shook things up XD. I'm glad that the characters are developing in pleasing ways, I'm really trying to find a steady pace and it seems to be working =D And yes, Chapter 13 was a bit of a bombshell and for a while I thought it might have been too much but I decided to go with it anyway, writing's always more fun living on the edge I find. You and everyone else wants to know what Rick gave to Fox, as intended, lol. All in good time. Thanks for writing in and giving me another shot, that really means the world to me as a writer =D

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Wow great chapter. Craziness happened! You make me hate Shane even more then I already do. Fox is such a badass! Love her and I love her and Daryl! Can't wait for more!_

So much Craziness and there is only more to come my friend ;)

** X23 Maximoff**: _LOVELOVELOVE merry christmas to meeeeee! This chapter was absolutely magnificent. I really like the way you've introduced Maggie and Beth and the way you're turning it to your own plot. And Daryl in this chapter...ah, be still my heart. I'm obsessed. I like how he forgot what happy was (as odd as that is to say), and the way he beat the tar out of Shane. Ah, Shane...disappointing Shane is disappointing. As in I'm disappointed in his actions, not how you write them. Cause they're totally things he would be doing at this point in the story. He just had such a chance to be a good guy, but then...well, things change. I will say I didn't expect him to leave Fox/Daryl so easily, but I suppose after getting your nose broken and a mild concussion it would be time to retreat. I assume the next chapter is Fox's backstory? Please please please please please? Wonderful as always! Please update soon! -XM_

The apocalypse can certainly make you forget what being happy is like, but it can also sharply remind you when you are in the presence of little things that you missed. Its often the little things I find that can break, and remake, your heart in a split second, and even tough, gritty souls like Daryl and Fox are no exceptions. I'm glad you liked the way I introduced Maggie and Beth, I wasn't too sure about it but in the end I went with it anyway. And yes, Shane…oh that Shane XD. He really could have been such a great guy, but I think he was driven mad by the intensity of his own feelings. We shall see how this plays out in my story eh? ;) And yes, my dear friend, your patience has been rewarded. Enjoy!

** Jerrie Higarashi**: _Whoa ; This story has me in awe...You're so kickass... This story is kickass...you're fucking character is kickass...Omg...I love you... This story is beyond amazing... Whenever I get time, I'll go back and review all your chapters because you deserve it :) Please, update soon and don't keep us waiting too long!_

Well hello there new reviewer! Thanks for dropping in and leaving me such lovely praise, one of the best Christmas gifts ever =) OMG you are so kind to go back and review every chapter! That's just incredible, thank you! I really hope I don't disappoint! Thanks so much again for dropping in!

* * *

She took him deep into the trees at the edge of the field in the back of the property until they found a small little hollow where the ground was soft and dry. Together they built up a pile of kindling and with her flip lighter set it ablaze, building a small fire, mostly for light because it wasn't cold out. The heat lightening was mostly drowned out in the warm orange glow of the low lying flames and Fox sat across from him, staring into the fire for a long time. He was content to wait until she wanted to speak. Whatever had happened to her, whatever she wanted to tell him…he could be patient. It wasn't like he had anything better to do either.

"I told you my mom raised me by myself. Me and my sister, Cherie. And that was true. There was never a man in her life. No one took care of her, and no one but her ever took care of her kids. Mom was a gypsy at heart. She was never happy staying in one place. Sometimes I would come home and our stuff would be packed up and we would just take off and drive until the coffee didn't do it for her anymore and she finally had to sleep. When I got older I would do the driving sometimes. We lived out of her car for years and years, getting by on change from fountains and under the table cash jobs my mom would get." She turned the lighter in her fingers end over end, her head tilting as she glanced from it to the fire and up at him occasionally. Whenever she caught his eye she would smile, just a little, still mostly in her eyes, and his heart would flutter like a bird trying to take flight. The alcohol soothed what otherwise would have been his disquiet at the feeling and he was content to listen to anything she had to say tonight.

"Some people hear that and think I was deprived. That my mother was horrible and irresponsible and had no business taking care of kids. But it really wasn't like that. I was happy. I never really went hungry. I was never really cold. I always had a place I could go back to. I was never afraid that my mom didn't love me or that I was weird. I knew I was weird. I couldn't make friends my own age, but I didn't need to. I had my mom and later my sister. It was my life, and I didn't question whether it was like most kids' lives."

He knew all about that concept. His brief stint in the public school system had taught him most kids hadn't lived they way he had. He always kept quiet about what his life at home was like- not out of shame, but it was none of their business to know.

"We traveled all over the world." She sighed fondly as she said this, looking up at him, wanderlust literally shining out of her emerald eyes. He'd never had an inclination to see what the rest of the world had to offer, but looking at her like that made him wonder what she might have seen to make her look so inspired.

"When we were in Vegas my mom got a real job briefly, just enough to save up money for us to travel somewhere else. We hopped a plane to Hawaii and we stayed there for another year. I was fifteen at the time, and Cherie was ten. I loved living there. The beaches, the food, the weather, the people. I was homeschooled my entire life, so when I was done doing my work in the morning I'd go out and surf and talk with the local kids. I didn't exactly make friends, but I was happy there and no one was pestering me, except for cops who thought I was truant. But after about a year Mom got bit by the travel bug again and packed us up. We went to Japan and then to China, down through India, going by car or bus or train, catching any form of transportation we could just to get from one place to the next." She smiled and stared up at the sky, the stars of which weren't visible because of the thick cloud cover. "We spent all night on a bus once, on the roof, and I watched the stars all night. The whole time we were traveling the only thing I was able to keep with me or that I didn't lose along the way was my guitar. I played my guitar all night just to stay awake and to keep track of where we were."

He whistled softly and she nodded, a soft smile crossing her face. She turned the lighter end over end in her fingers, staring deep into the flames before looking back up at him. He thought he saw a trace of sadness despite the upturned corner of her lips and listened intently as she continued.

"We were in the Middle East briefly but it was such a sharp culture clash we just passed through. After that it was all across Europe. Transylvania on Halloween was incredible. I could hear the wolves howling and I ran through a park feeling like one of them. I think I howled with them, just because I could. The moon was full and the air was cold and I swore I was one of them because of how fast I could run." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back for a long while before continuing. "We spent Christmas in Paris…" She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself tightly but still looking at him, her face awash with aching loneliness and pain but still she smiled somehow. "I spent my days wandering the streets of famous cities, carving my name on trees with my sister. At night I would leave her safe with Mom and go out and meet local kids, usually boys, and let them show me things."

"What kind of things?" he asked, a dark undercurrent in his voice.

"All kinds of things." She said softly, her eyes gleaming like a fox's as she uncurled her limbs and loosened up again. "My first kiss had been in Hawaii, underneath the stars on a beach at midnight. I had met him within a few weeks before we were supposed to leave and I figured I would never see him again, and I didn't want to go without knowing what it felt like to kiss someone I cared about." She smiled again and let her fingers trace the edge of her own hand like the ghost of someone else's.

"You're not that innocent." Daryl said quietly. He probably wouldn't have if he hadn't had half a bottle of whiskey going through him, but she didn't seem to mind. She shook her head and let her hair tumble down her back and shoulders before continuing.

"I met a lovely boy in Paris. He was a starving musician and our conversations were a mix of badly broken French and English, but he could play the most beautiful music. I let him show me the city and on the last night in Paris, I slept with him. In a way I had known what was going to happen and though I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't want to let an opportunity like that to get away from me. I barely knew him, and yet in a way I had never been closer to a person before. I was slipping out of bed in the morning and he called me by my name and asked me to stay. It hurt so much to kiss him and let him go and I promised myself I was never going to let that happen again. From then on, I swore I would never let myself hurt like that again. We moved on from Paris to London and spent another three months there. I met boys and let them take me to underground clubs and buy me drinks and sleep with me and I would vanish by dawn and usually never see them again. Somehow it didn't hurt if I just danced and let them keep me warm without telling them my name." She sighed softly and looked at him, a question in her eyes. She wanted to know what he thought of her, but he had a question of his own instead.

"Is that why you won't tell me your name? Because of all of that?" He struggled for the words but she saved him from further explanation.

"Yes," she said quietly, "The last stranger to ever know my real name was my first lover in Paris." She looked at him, a bit of sadness or maybe just solace in her eyes. "It's too much of who I am to give away." She paused for a while, staring straight into the flames. When she spoke again, she was stronger, less emotional. At least at first.

"Mom saved up enough money to get us on a plane from London headed to the States. We landed in Atlanta with no money between the three of us but Mom had a friend here who let us stay. My sister was eleven and I was sixteen when we got there. She wanted to go to a real school now that we were back in the States and we're planning to stay for a while. I was already graduated from high school by this point and so my mom agreed to settle down and let Cherie go to a regular school." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, watching the flames dance back and forth for a while before she went on.

"I floundered in Atlanta. I hated it there more than I think I've ever hated any place. Every place has good and bad things about it, but Atlanta was just…" she shifted on the grass and looked up at him with a wordless plea to understand.

"Couldn't make friends here, huh?" he guessed. He wasn't surprised, but he didn't think less of her for that. During his brief stint in the public school system he hadn't made too many friends either. The South was all about appearances and being in the right circle of people, and woe unto those who don't give a shit about either of those things which he knew Fox didn't. She couldn't be bothered to care about what people thought of her even if her life depended on it- literally.

She nodded. "I've never been so good at making friends, really. I never stayed any place long enough to do so, but trying to in the South, after everything I'd seen, everything I'd felt and experienced from the world…it just wasn't possible. I hated their close mindedness, their bigotry, their ignorance and mistreatment of people just because they were different. Never mind that they shunned me because I didn't fit the mold of a white southern belle. And as I'm sure you can believe, I was never shy about my disdain for them." She looked up and caught his eye, a thin rueful grin playing with her lips, drawing one of his own.

"Ain't that the truth." He murmured.

"My sister on the other hand…she thrived here." She continued, losing the grin and becoming more serious. She threw a stick into the fire and he watched as her eyes blazed with the shower of sparks that was kicked up.

"Cherie and I were always incredibly different. We were bonded because of being on the road so much and really only having each other to depend on. But she always wanted something traditional. High school. Prom. Boyfriend. Graduation. College. I never wanted any of that. And my mom never had either, but she tried to give my sister the life she wanted by staying put in Atlanta."

She gazed at him from across the fire her eyes lost to her own memories. "She was so different from me. She was beautiful, feminine, and lovely as the summer sun setting over the ocean. She could have a little bite to her when she wanted, but nothing like me and Mom. She was a gentle soul. Beth reminds me of her."

Daryl nodded and Fox shifted, lifting her eyes from the fire and back towards him now. He bore her gaze willingly, silently agreeing to this strange pact he was making with her. In the back of his mind he had a quiet but very much present notion that their relationship wouldn't be the same after this. It unsettled him, but the alcohol's soothing heat and whispered comfort told him it was alright. He focused on the sound of her voice and listened.

"I'd always been deeply affected by music even when I was little. My mom would play for me sometimes but she never got past the basic chords and a few notes but it never failed to make me feel better if I was upset about something. Whenever I would do the driving I would always have the radio on even after Cherie and Mom fell asleep. While we were on the road I taught myself how to play and how to sing. When we were short on cash I'd find a side walk and play for a while and people would toss money into my guitar case."

"Oh my God, you're a friggin hippie, are you kidding me?" he meant it as a joke and he was relieved when she cracked a smile and laughed a little.

"Yes, I am a knife throwing guitar strumming hippie. Put that in your pipe and smoke it." She snorted, tucking another piece of hair behind her ear. Silence sank over them for a few moments before she continued.

"After I figured out that I was never going to be happy in Atlanta, I decided to do what I always wanted to do. I told my mom that I wanted to go to L.A. to pursue a career in music. I had no money, no place to stay, no plan, nothing. I just wanted to go and my mom, being the wild child and supporter of all things impossible, agreed to let me go. I was seventeen when I packed up the car and left the only constant in my life behind." She sighed heavily as she did so.

"Your sister didn't take that kindly, did she?"

Fox shook her head. "No. We had been drifting apart ever since we'd moved to Atlanta because now she was going to a normal school and making friends her own age, and I was out all the time trying to find a place for myself. She didn't need me anymore, and I figured she could handle herself. She still had mom to take care of her, and now she had friends outside of me. I guess I didn't realize she needed me more than I thought." She leaned her cheek down against her knee and blinked a bit, stemming what had to be tears that were threatening to overwhelm her. When she spoke again though she was steady.

"When I got to L.A. it was about what I expected it to be; crazy but not entirely unfamiliar. I lived out of my car while I tried to find work and meet with record producers or label companies hoping that they would listen to the demo that I had put together with my laptop. I spent three weeks driving from place to place, playing my guitar on the street, moving every few hours during the night so I wouldn't get a ticket or be shooed away by police." She paused and looked up at him her eyes darkened now. "Saw some dodgy shit doing that. These came in handy." She unsheathed one of her daggers and twirled it gently between her fingers.

"After a month I got wind that a record producer was going to be at a show in a dive bar not too far from where I'd been staying. I wasn't old enough to get in, but my fake I.D. worked just fine and I swore that I'd get a demo into his hands before the night was out. I did managed to do just that, but more importantly I met my group."

He tilted his head at her. "You had a band or something?"

She gave a half smile and ran her fingers through her hair. "Kind of. We would play music together occasionally, but it was mostly just us doing our own thing. There were five of us. Two guys and two girls and me." She leaned her head back and seemed to lose herself for a long time. "Eli was the loud one. Soon as he saw me he came running over and asked if I was even old enough to get into the bar. Michael followed up right behind him, ever the loyal wingman. And then Jazz and Emily. Jazz was a wild child, just like me. Emily was like her rock, kept her grounded and from flinging herself off the roof because she swore she could fly, you know?" She looked at him and caught his eyes and though there was only a little understanding it was enough for her and she kept going.

"They took me in. They were all sharing a loft and let me stay there. I wasn't even planning on staying the night, but we'd been drinking cheap tequila all night and I was so tired from all the running around I'd been doing since I'd gotten to L.A. I passed out in their loft and woke up surrounded by warm bodies and clean skin and I don't think I'd ever been happier." She smiled into the distance, staring out at the sky still threatening to storm over their heads. It was as if she could see something that no one else could, something that was so important it could hold all of her attention for what felt like eternity.

"They let me stay there. They became my everything. I'd never bonded with a group of people like that before. It had always just been me, Cherie, and my mom. Nobody else that I was close to that I didn't have to leave. Everyone else I could never have as my own. They let me be myself. I never had to watch what I said, I never had to worry about what they would think if I did X, Y, or Z. It was the freedom of being alone with the companionship of people at the same time." She tilted her head and looked at him calculatingly, expecting him to say something, but he didn't and she smiled softly in her eyes.

"I stayed in L.A. for the next year with them, trying to get a break in the music industry. I did play some shows and made a small amount of money that I promptly blew on tequila, vodka, and good whiskey when I could afford it. But I had my friends, and they had me. We never went to bed before the sun was up, and we never slept without each other. There was sex sometimes, but not very much, mostly just between Jazz and Eli." She ran her fingers through her hair, now staring into the flames again. "But we always stayed together. A lot of times we'd be in my car and just driving and when we were so tired we couldn't go any further we'd pull over and throw the seats down and just pass out. I wrote so many songs with them. Sometimes we'd have personal concerts and it would just be us playing on street corners or on rooftops. We played all night on the beach once until the cops chased us away."

"I'd call home to check in every now and then, usually when I had a minute just to breathe which wasn't often. Mom was ok with what I was doing, not that she really could have stopped me anyway, but Cherie…Cherie thought I was a waste case. She was determined to be successful, to never live the way my mom and I did. She wanted to go to college and be a doctor to make tons of money even though she was only twelve years old. I told her that money wasn't everything and it was never going to buy her what I had with my friends, but she seemed to think otherwise. Our relationship was very strained by the end." She looked up at him and her eyes glowed like emeralds set to blaze and he couldn't tell if she was in pain, sad, or just exhausted. But still she kept on.

"After a while, I got sick of L.A. They didn't get what I was trying to do. They wanted to turn me into some generic pop-princess with manufactured lyrics and an image to match. I pissed off a lot of people because I either would ditch shows I didn't want to play or when I would play shows, I'd do them my way at the last second and then they would never call me back. I got why they were pissed, but it didn't matter to me. I wanted fame and fortune and success, but not at the price of my soul. I thought I might have a better chance in Nashville. I was so scared to leave, because I didn't want to leave my friends. I was safe with them. I'd never been a part of a group before, and I never wanted to lose that." She looked up at him and now two or three tears slid down her cheeks. "When I told them I was thinking about leaving, they all looked at me like I'd lost my mind and I still remember this…Jazz said 'What, you think we'd let you run across country and leave us behind? You're crazy.'"

"They dropped everything to go with you?" he questioned with more than a little bit of disbelief in his voice.

She nodded. "Not like they had a lot of everything to drop, but yeah. They picked up their lives, sold most of the stuff that was in the loft, and then we saddled up in my car and headed to Nashville. The first night out we were driving through the desert and we stopped at about four or five in the morning and played music until the sun came up. I wrote some of my best music that night. I swear to God, I was high on everything that was happening. I was leaving but I had everything I loved with me. I was free, I was independent, I was on fire…" she whispered closing her eyes and breathing in deep as though she were struggling to stay calm.

"We showed up in Nashville with fifty bucks between us. I played music on the street corners and for the first two weeks we slept out of my car until we could afford a down payment on a one-bedroom apartment. I slept in the bathtub since it was because of me we were out there. We were all broke and getting work was almost impossible. We snuck into bars and clubs and once I even took over the stage just to get half a song out before security came and chased us out."

"And then things started getting weird. Strange news reports, people getting sick and dying. And then un-dying." She sighed heavily and looked up from the fire. He saw an entire world in her eyes and it was a world full of pain and what had to be despair. It hurt to look at her like that, but he wouldn't turn away from her.

"We heard that Atlanta was a safe-zone. I knew Mom and Cherie were still there, and I was determined that if something really bad was going to happen that I wasn't going to leave them on their own. My group came with me." She curled her fingers into fists as she said this and looked at him with something that might have been anger. "I told them not to. I told them to go to their families, that I'd find them when everything was safe again. But they said no. They insisted that we stick together, and since I had a plan, they were going to go with it. I never asked to call their shots…stupid bastards." Her voice cracked and Daryl knew then that wherever this was going, it wasn't going to end well.

"We left Nashville right before everything went to pieces, but by the time we got to Atlanta, shit was really bad. The military had blockaded the city, there were sirens and guns going off and fires burning in the streets. We got past the blockade when a pack of Walkers attacked. The streets were overrun with both Walkers and people who were still living that were trying to get away. It was madness. It's like what I would think a warzone might look like. People were dying in the streets, ripped to shreds right in front of us." She shuddered and her voice went stiff, as though she still couldn't believe what she was saying.

"We made it to where Mom and Cherie had been staying but it was empty when we got there. We stayed long enough for me to take my knife collection and their holsters. I hadn't bothered bringing them all to L.A. 'cause I didn't think I'd need them. We ran for it, but then the military…they started dropping napalm in the streets." She clenched her fists and stared straight into him and it was like being pierced with one of her knives.

"Emily was badly burned. We'd been trying to get across a street when a bomb hit literally ten feet from us. We got her to the hospital and at first we thought we'd be safe, but then the troops came in and started shooting people in the halls. We hid inside the CAT scan and MRI machines until they left. Once they were gone we tried to treat her burns but she was in so much pain and had lost so much blood it wasn't working. Walkers were shuffling down the halls and so I barricaded us inside an elevator, but Em went into shock and died shortly after." She paused for a moment and looked through him, speaking as though she were just by herself. " I remember thinking how much night there was left to go. How dark the shadows were and how every nightmare I'd ever seen in my dreams was pale and bright compared to this." No tears slid down her face now but her voice was shaking badly.

"Michael had already been bitten at that point. It had actually happened when we were first getting through the blockade into the city, but we didn't know what it meant and we were hoping against hope nothing would happen. After Em died we heard what sounded like more troops coming through so we ran for it. We went next door to the pharmacy and that was when I took what I could get my hands on. We stayed there while I swear to God there was an earthquake going on outside. I saw the tanks rolling through and the troops being torn apart because they didn't know to shoot the Walkers in the head. It was a blood bath." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"We went up to the roof when the Walkers made it inside the pharmacy. I was able to get the door shut to stop them from getting at us but by that point Mike was really bad off. He died and turned on the rooftop only about an hour later. Eli had taken a gun off of a soldier who had died in the streets in front of us on the way to the hospital and he shot at him, but he didn't know to aim for the head either. Mike bit Eli and scratched Jazz really bad. I pulled Mike off of Jazz before he could kill her and when I threw him off he cracked his skull on the railing of the roof. It was after that we realized that to kill them we had to go for the head. We went down the fire escape to get off the roof because more helicopters were coming to drop napalm and we were sitting ducks up there. I kept us moving as much as I could, hoping that somehow we could get out of the city. It was three in the morning when Eli died and turned. He'd collapsed in the middle of a street and there was another mob of Walkers coming. He became one just as they were coming for us. Jazz had picked up the gun to shoot him but a soldier got him first. Right before the mob caught up with him and ate him alive." She squeezed her eyes shut and shivered, trying to get a handle on herself.

"We only got away because another napalm bomb was dropped on the mob. It got most of them and me and Jazz were able to get out of the way in time. She was getting sicker and sicker and so I found us another place to hide, an underground parking garage. I was going to ride everything out until morning and then try to get us out again, but during the rest of the night I kept watch." She looked up at him and now tears came down her face freely but her voice was surprisingly steady. Her eyes were like stones, beautiful and gleaming but cold and smooth and so hard. "I watched the world end that night. I watched it burn."

She looked up and away from him and stared off into the space of the sky behind his head, not speaking for a long time. When she finally did, her voice was very soft and fragile, like she might shatter into a million pieces.

"When the sun rose the city was quiet at last. I thought that was as good a time as any to get out. Jazz was so sick by then she could barely stand but I wasn't going to leave her behind. I dragged her through the streets with me but we were confronted by a horde of Walkers. She told me to run, to leave her behind and then I could escape. I couldn't let that happen…I couldn't watch her be ripped apart…" What remained of her shell seemed to shatter at last and when she looked up at him tears were freely streaming down her face in fast moving rivulets, not unlike the blood that had flowed down her wrists not three days ago. They were silent tears, but Daryl could see clearly the despair in her watery green eyes.

Daryl was at a loss for what to do. He moved out of instinct hoping it would help but feeling very unsure at the same time. He didn't like feeling this way, and he'd be damned if he didn't try and do something. He shifted over to sit next to her and cautiously put his arms around her, almost as if he were afraid she might bite him like a Walker. He held her shaking frame and she cried against his chest, spilling hot, unrelenting tears.

"I killed her. I did." She whimpered, rocking back and forth, shaking and shivering in his arms.

"You did what you had to do." He murmured, and now he realized why she kept saying that. It was the only thing she had going for her to keep her from losing her mind. She had done what was needed.

"I…I shot Jazz and threw the gun away. I ran for it and left her there. I left them all there. They trusted me and they're dead now. They would have never gone into the city had it not been for me. They trusted me and now they're gone." Pain hardened and laced through her voice and he felt her stiffen.

He pulled her away and forced her to look up into his eyes. Even though they were red and her face was streaked with tears and she was shaking she was still beautiful and there was still fire burning inside her. He realized then that he had never known a woman as strong as she was, as brave, or with so much of a fight in her. He realized that was what he was drawn to and it was thanks to the alcohol still in him he admitted it. But he knew it would stay with him even in the morning.

"We've all lost." He told her quietly. "There's nothing that will change that now. But if we don't go on, their lives will have meant nothing. And I know you don't want that." If it hadn't been for the alcohol he wouldn't have been so honest, or at least it would have taken a lot longer to say it. He had a feeling her emotional cracking was due to the alcohol as well, but he didn't mind. There was something about her being vulnerable in front of him that stroked his ego in very appealing ways.

She shook her head and managed to wipe away her tears. "No. They meant everything to me. They still mean everything to me."

He nodded and she pulled away from him to sit up on her own and he realized that she was giving him permission to move back to where he had been before, back across the fire. But he didn't. He stayed where he was and let his foot brush hers ever so slightly. It wasn't exactly cuddling, but then again he'd never been the softest of sorts and even drunk, there was only so much he could take.

But she didn't seem to mind. In fact she actually managed to smile a little. Only for a moment before it was replaced with a solemn expression. She stared into the fire and was quiet for a long time. And for the first time, he broke the silence between them.

"When Merle and I left, most everyone we knew had been killed. Merle wanted to go down towards Atlanta to see what was going on but if people were killing each other down there the way they had in our neighborhood, I knew going there would just be putting ourselves in danger. But Merle never did anything anyone else told him to do, except for Dad. Dad was the only one who could ever tell Merle to do something and he'd do it."

"You're the younger of the two, aren't you?" she asked him quietly.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. Merle's eight years older than me. Looks older though cause he did so many drugs and stayed out all night so much. I told him 'quit fucking those five dollar whores and get a job' but he'd just tell me to go skin another squirrel and do whatever he wanted. He always had a thing for sluts, and they were always the ones with the drugs."

"He would have done whatever he wanted, no matter what. Drugs do that to people. I was a wild child but aside from a little weed and a little X, I left that shit alone." She answered him. He watched as she wiped away the rest of her residual tears and roll her shoulders to loosen back up again. She turned towards him, her eyes traveling down his body until they landed on the scar on his chest.

"How'd you get that?" she asked softly.

He unconsciously shifted, his shoulders knotting up with tension. He thought about not answering but after having listened to her spill her soul, it didn't feel right to keep all his secrets to himself. "My old man wasn't exactly the soft type. And after Ma died, he just went downhill. Not that they were ever Romeo and Juliet, but while she was around, he restricted himself to smacking me and Merle only with his hand for her sake." He shrugged his shoulders again and unconsciously let his fingertips touch the edge of the scar on his chest. "I came home from school one day with a bloody nose and black eyes. I was ten, he was fourteen, and the jackass had stolen my lunch. I jumped him to get it back just like Merle taught me but he put the hurt on me pretty good. Dad was pissed that I lost a fight, and that the school called him to come down and talk about what happened because of course nobody had seen the bastard steal my lunch, just me clocking him a good one in the back of the head. After we got home…Dad took the belt to me. Merle was watching from the door. He laughed at me for crying. I could have kicked his ass because I'd seen Dad take his belt buckle to Merle before and he'd cried like a bitch just like me. I stood and took it for as long as I could but then my old man forced me to turn around. He swung the buckle at my face and I ran away." He remembered it all too vividly. The darkness of the house, the sound of his father's heavy breathing, the pain written all over his back and thighs from the leather and the metal buckle. His face was still hurting from the beating earlier in the day and he was almost blinded because of it, blindly staggering through the house, running into furniture and walls in his haste to get away. He scrambled away from his father who was still lunging after him like a monster in the night.

"I ran for the back door but Merle grabbed me and held me down. He told me that when I lose like a bitch I have to take it like one too. But Dad had picked up a kitchen knife from the counter top. Merle…he tried to get between Dad and me but Dad threw him out of the way. Dad sliced me open but on the rebound he tripped and hit his head on the counter. He collapsed and I ran out the back door."

"Jesus Christ." She whispered softly. She dared to meet his eyes and saw no pain there and she realized he must have buried this or rationalized it for so long that it didn't hurt anymore. How else was he supposed to live with it? She tried and was completely unable to fathom how a parent could do something like that to their children, but even more so, how he managed to speak with such carelessness. There was no emotion in his face or voice. It was almost as if he were reading it off of a piece of paper. She sought his eyes, and in the very back of his pupils, the place where the soul lurks, she could see the fear, the pain, and the burning rage. But it was so far back it was almost invisible.

Almost.

"I ran into the woods and got myself lost. Nine days eating berries, wiping my ass with poison oak. I was lucky it was spring because it would have been damn cold at night otherwise." He continued. The last spark of his emotions died and his eyes became calm again and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"No one tried to find you?" she asked softly.

He looked at her knowingly. "Nah. When my dad woke up he took off on a bender with some waitress. Merle went and got himself arrested and chucked into juvie after he damn near killed the kid who started the whole mess in the first place. They didn't even know I was gone." He shrugged his shoulders, completely unphased by the look on her face. He stared into the fire, tossing a piece of grass into the flames, watching it writhe helplessly in the blaze. "I made my way back eventually. Walked in through the back door and made myself a sandwich. I'm no worse for wear, 'cept my ass itched something awful. I will never mistake poison oak for any other plant again. Ever."

She snorted with soft laughter and her rolled his eyes at her. "Oh what, you think you're too good to rough it? I got news for you, prissy, you try distinguishing between poison oak and kudzu in the dark and then we'll talk." He teased. There was a warm feeling running through him at the sound of her laughter and it was only amplified by the alcohol. Until another question crept up in his mind. One that just wouldn't let him rest until he asked.

"Maybe this isn't my place, but I gotta ask. You and Glenn. Why?" he seemed uncomfortable, but also demanding. He wasn't going to let this go, and she knew part of it was because it really had gotten under his skin. It pleased her and made a flare of heat curl in her flesh.

"If it's anybody's place, its yours." She said softly. "It wasn't just to piss you off. Although that was part of it." She admitted. She grew more solemn as she continued. "I hadn't been back into Atlanta since I'd escaped the night the world ended. Me, you, and Glenn had just barely made it out alive, and I was feeling overwhelmed. Really overwhelmed. I didn't know what else to do, and you pushed me away…" she sighed and tried not to look at him. She didn't want to blame him. Even in her hazy, whiskey soaked brain, she realized she had tried to force herself on him, and that was wrong, especially considering how aloof he liked to keep himself. She had taken him for a different sort of man- she had judged him before she knew him. "And Glenn was willing. He took what I couldn't handle. Sex is not something I've usually done out of love or even affection. It's just a distraction. A hella strong distraction. Pissing you off was just my way of informing you that you do care what I do. That it affects you."

His eyes hardened. "I really don't like that." He muttered coldly. "I really don't."

She dared to shift closer to him and it was all he could do to stop from flinching backwards. He could smell her now, and most of her perfume was gone. Now she smelt like the wilds of the night, the lighting and the rumble of the thunder above their heads. Smoke, wind, grass and heat and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't like it.

Really like it.

"I know. I'm not going to say I'm sorry because, honestly, I have too much pride." She leaned closer to him, her hair falling around her neck and face, tangled tresses of bloody silk and the alcohol still in him whispered to run his fingers through it, to push it away from her face and kiss her. Kiss her and love her and make her cry out so loud that the trees shook. He was almost shaking feeling everything roil through him at all at once. He felt nervous at the sudden closeness, almost like he couldn't breathe. He had never felt like this before; his whole body was invisibly trembling and a very unknown part of him whispered things in his ear, things that might happen. Flesh against flesh, teeth and tongue and skin and tangled limbs. He didn't know how to handle it all but fuck if he was going to let that stop him.

"Liar." He whispered. She was so close he could taste her breath on his tongue, and it was a damn good taste; whiskey and pain and hunger- hunger for the flesh of another, his flesh. Between her and the alcohol swimming in his veins, it was really hard to think straight.

Really hard.

"You won't say you're sorry cause you're not." He told her. His voice rumbled in his throat, low and cut with gravel, breaking the words up but not in unappealing ways.

"Kiss me." She whispered. He could see how hard it was for her to unbend her pride and ask. He could see her shaking with restraint. The shadows of the night curled over one half of her face, the other lit with the golden flames, her eyes turned to multi-colors, dancing like a hunter chasing prey. His heart raced beneath his chest and despite the cool wind that blew against them heat poured against his skin like hot oil.

"Tell me you need it." He growled. He advanced on her, pushing her onto her back on the grass as he prowled above her, placing his hands on either side of her head, holding himself up over her while his hips found a place right above hers. He realized the sexual implications of this position, but it wasn't actually about that- it was about dominance, not even control, just pure instinctual need to assert himself in the wake of her physical and emotional onslaught. He wasn't a kid like Glenn, she couldn't twist him over and make him cry for her; he was a man and even if it killed him she'd know it one way or the other. Yet she still looked up at him with the expression of a predator, despite being the one pinned down to the ground. If he was going to do this, he was doing it on his terms, and he'd force her to admit that she needed him. That she couldn't just use him for kicks. That he was worthy of her respect. It was an incredibly frustrating game to have to play, but it in some ways it was animalistic and carnal and with the alcohol to loosen up his control, he didn't really care. In fact that harsh, untamed aspect of it appealed to him very much. She was like him- rough, hard, sharp, ruthless, and wild.

"You're cruel." She whispered, her voice breathless and edged just like a serrated blade. Her eyes burned with emerald fire and if it hadn't been the alcohol fueling him on he would have said she was going to try and slice him. She arched her hips up towards him, trying to get contact with his but he lifted himself just high enough out of her reach to leave her frustrated before leaning down close to her ear.

"It'll be my secret." His voice was raspy and rough and his breath warm against her sensitive skin and her neck actually arched. There was a part of her that protested that he could make her shake like this beneath him, but she loved it at the same time. She had always needed to live close to the edge, to dance between safety and recklessness. He was untamed and unpredictable and everything she had ever craved. This was nothing like her boys in the city that she could hold down and tear apart until they screamed whatever name she'd said to call her by. But if the rest of the group thought he had power over her in any way shape or form…she refused to consider it.

"If you tell I'll flay you alive, Daryl Dixon." She growled, her fingers twisted up into his hair, forcing him to look in her eyes. They burned, searing their image into his brain forever and he'd never felt so helpless and so willing to plunge over a cliff.

He kissed her hard, his lips rough and so unpracticed against her own. The silver ring at the edge of her lip created a cool contrast between them but what he was really thinking was how little he knew what he was doing and how much that it didn't matter. Lightening blazed behind his head and thunder snarled as his lips moved against hers. Her tongue came to greet his, coaxing him, teaching him, demanding more from him. Her onslaught had the element of surprise and he parted his lips out of instinct when she traced his bottom lip with her tongue. He let her in his mouth and felt more than heard the way he gasped at the sensation. She took him over, her tongue dominating the inside of his mouth, not giving him a chance to adjust. She was hot and fast and challenging, running her tongue everywhere that she could reach. His animal nature rebelled at the idea she could do this to him and out of pure instinct he kissed her back, his tongue beginning to push and slide against hers, trying to understand the rules to this game.

But apparently there were no rules. Her hands slid through his hair while he continued to hold himself up over her. Strong fingers pulled on the strands on his head before curling around the nape of his neck, making him shudder. He focused on her mouth and his tongue and decided not to let her have all the fun. He forced his tongue down into her mouth and he felt her moan and her body shiver beneath him. Her hips rolled into his and he, out of no conscious control of his own, ground down against her. He didn't even realize he was doing it until heat and wonderful sensations ran over every inch of his skin, concentrated most strongly where his body met hers. All he knew was it felt so good- he had never felt this way in his life, and damn if he didn't understand why Glenn hadn't had two seconds of self control and just let her use him like a cheap piece of meat. He was overwhelmed and shaking and had let his eyes close by now and all he could do was just keep kissing her, keep holding her down, never ever let this feeling get away from him.

She had just started to claw her fingers against his shoulder blades and chest when thunder cracked like a gunshot over their heads and she pulled her mouth away from his. She looked up at the sky and he finally released his grip on her, sitting up and allowing her to do the same.

"We should go." He panted. He was surprised to find that he was out of breath. He really couldn't believe that she'd managed to reduce him to this, this shivering mass of flesh and burning hot blood, but somehow he found himself uncaring. He would blame it on the alcohol but there was a part of him that knew it wasn't just the booze. It was her.

"Yeah. We should." She seemed breathless too but her eyes flashed with mischievous sparks. She got up to her feet and helped him stamp the fire out before they darted through the trees and back to the house, moving at a fast lope. When they stole back inside they made their way through the darkness, up the stairs and down the hall, moving as quietly as possible.

"You can stay with me if you want." He offered when they reached the room at the end of the hall. He had laid a claim to the room that she'd found the guitar in and he didn't want her to be too far away from him. Not for fear of danger really…he just liked knowing she was there.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Whatever will they say about us?" she asked as she crept into the darkened room and he closed the door behind them.

"Like you ever gave a shit." He laughed, the words rumbling in his throat.

She approached him slowly, prowling forward like the fox he had named her after. Her eyes flashed, half green and half silver when cast in the ghostly moonlight streaming in from the window. Heat crept through him as she advanced on him, continuing to get closer.

"I won't ask for everything now." She murmured softly. "Thank you for what you did for me tonight."

She reached for him and kissed him again, this time much softer and much more gently. Just a soft press of her lips on his, her fingers gently stroking his face and teasing his hair line. The alcohol in him whispered to deepen it but the effect was wearing off and even this gentle touching was making him quiver. He was relieved when she let him go, not because he didn't like the way it felt, but because he wasn't sure he could handle it.

"If you promise to behave, we can share the bed." He managed to say once he got his breath back. It unnerved him a little that she could do this to him but he was too tired and still too drunk to really think about it.

She pulled away from him and smiled, nodding her head, her eyes glittering. "Promise." She whispered before she pulled away to unlace her boots, sitting on the window seat as she did so. He took the edge of the bed and loosened his own before kicking them off. He watched as she rifled through her bag before pulling out an oversized shirt. She twirled her finger at him and he got the message, turning around while she got undressed.

"Ok." She said softly. He turned around and tried not to swallow hard. There was something undeniably sexy about the way the fabric fell loose and comfortable around her body; he bit the inside of his cheek until he'd settled down. She chuckled a little at his expression and he expected her to crawl into the bed but instead she propped herself on the window seat and picked up the guitar again, strumming softly.

"One more question."

She looked up at him and nodded, not speaking, but gazing at him with her eyes even as her fingers slowly moved up and down the guitar.

"Whenever there is a battle, why do you run towards the danger? It can't be just to impress us."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What makes you say that?"

Ordinarily he would have said this straight faced but he'd had too much alcohol and too close a moment with her to stop the smirk that twitched with his lips. "Cause you don't do anything just for the benefit of someone else. There's always something in it for you."

She paused for a moment before returning his smirk with one of her own. Only for a moment though before her eyes grew sorrowful. She was soft when she answered him.

"The night I watched the world end, I ran. Maybe I could have prevented the death of my friends if I hadn't. Maybe it would have been the same. Maybe I wouldn't have even survived at all. But I won't let what happened to me happen to anybody else, not if I can help it." She paused for a moment, tilting her head thoughtfully. "And Walkers aren't exactly tough to kill. One good clock to the head and they're out. Why wait until they're mobile in a group to start taking them out when you can pick them off one at a time?"

He nodded his head. Without words to say he turned and climbed down into the bed, his body crying out in relief and gratitude at the feel of the mattress and the softness of the blankets. After weeks of only the hard ground as a bed, it was enough to put him out almost immediately. But he was awake long enough to hear the soft tenors of the guitar and Fox's voice crooning words so low that he couldn't hear what they were, but he didn't have to. They took his dreams to shadowed fields where blood red hair burned bright as fire and green eyes blazed. The smell of the storm wrapped around him while thunder snarled above his head even as heat scored through him from just one touch of her lips against his own.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Alright lovelies we are back! Man, my trip back from Europe was crazy! I got stranded in Minneapolis and boy was it COLD! But I'm here and in the last few remaining days of my winter break, I shall do my best to bring you as many updates as I can. Enjoy! **_

**mrskaz453**: _Awesome doesn't even describe this chapter...I understand more about her, but want to know her damn name...LOL I love what's happening between Daryl/Fox?... Slow, hard, complete if that makes sense...Can't wait to see what happens with these two next...and what happens with the group... Update soon..._

Lol, you're not the only one who wants to know her name, but she ain't giving it up that easy XD. Yes indeed, the relationship building between Daryl and Fox is a one of those elemental things, raw and visceral, a slow intense burn towards a blaze. Both of them are pitching forward and trying to stop themselves at the same time, we shall see how it plays out ;)

**chef-carlitos**: _You are an AMAZING writer. This story is just so incredibly written, it's amazing! Both Fox and Daryl are amazingly portrayed :) update soon!_

Thank you so much for your praise. This story has by far earned me the most reviews, not just in total but per chapter overall, and it really is just incredible to me how that could happen, and I'm so thankful for reviewers like you who drop in and to tell me so. =D

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _Alright, this chapter impressed me a lot. I love the way you write and I love Fox and how you have developed her as a character. I also love how you are developing Daryl more and their relationship. It's amazing, truly._

You know I actually almost changed this chapter at the last second. I can't tell you how many times I re-read it to edit it and try to make it perfect and right at the last second I almost overhauled the entire kissing scene with Fox and Daryl, but I'm glad I didn't, people seem to be responding well to it, like it was realistic, and I'm thankful for that =) I am indeed trying to develop Daryl more but in a slow, steady way just like they did in the show and of course with Fox thrown into the mix that shakes everything up, lol. Thanks for continuing to write in, it means everything to me as a writer =D

**Emberka-2012**: _That's right, Daryl not a boy like Glenn. He should not let her use him._

Nope, he's certainly not. Not only is Daryl a good bit older than Glenn (and Fox as well) he's tougher and harder. No way would he let her use him like she did Glenn, he may be inexperienced but he'll still put up a helluva fight so to speak lol.

**DesDesxoxo**: _This was an amazing chapter! That's all I've got to say. ;)_

Well thank you much for chiming in to say so! =D

**SilverAdvenger12**:_ Brilliant chapter! I believe it's my favorite one yet! Seriously! So full of emotion and that kissing scene between fox and Daryl...damn! Loved it all. The ending of that chapter was so beautiful! Wow! Can not wait for more!_

I seem to have this pattern of self-doubt but plunging ahead anyway, because at the last second, I almost completely overhauled that kissing scene and made it completely different. I think both versions would have worked, but I let my inner fan-girl take over and just ran with it. I'd love to see Daryl have a relationship with someone like Fox in the show because we'd see him vulnerable and unsure, but also willing to fight for what he wants and what he deserves, and so I left it as is. Very glad you and so many others have dropped in to tell me I made the right decision =D

**FanFicGirl10**: _You are such a great writer. Awww such a lovely chapter, i actually cried a little. Poor Fox she has been through a lot now i understand better why she act the way she acts. I love that Daryl also opened up to her :) Aaah They Actually kissed and are sleeping together, yes! I literally can't wait til the next chapter :) Please Update Soon!_

Awww you cried!? Wow! I am so speechless, I hardly know what to say. Yes indeed Fox has been through a lot, both before and after the world ended. Part of what makes her so fiery is that she's been judged and held accountable by so many that she barely knew and so now she's determined to stand on her own no matter what. Except Daryl rips the rug right out from under her and puts her off balance. But there's is a give and take which is why he opened up to her. In the show Daryl doesn't actually strike me as particularly secretive, just quiet and observant and more the type to speak only when spoken to, not unlike myself really. Ahhh yes, they kissed at last. It had been building so long between them, it was about damn time, even for me, lol. And they do indeed share a bed. In some ways sharing the place you sleep/live in is more intimate than actually having sex with someone, depending on the people involved. Or maybe I just see the world in a really strange way, lol. Either way, I'm very glad you enjoyed the chapter =D

**ry123red**: _Sorry I haven't reviewed the previous chapters, but i just couldn't bring myself to stop reading the story long enough to write a decent review. lol. First, I really love how you inserted your own character into the story, because no one in the actual show now is a good fit for Daryl. Also, it took awhile for Fox to open up to Daryl, but the wait was worth it. Seriously. Anyways, I can't wait to read what happens next! I really like how Daryl is forcing Fox to take things slower than she's used to. haha. It's almost sweet in a way, even though neither of them are particularly sweet with anyone else in the story. Great story so far and I can't wait to read more! :)_

I agree, no one in the show currently is a good fit for Daryl, at least to me, Carol is more like a mother figure, not a romantic interest. I always thought that if Daryl was going to be romantically interested in anyone in the show, it would be Andrea, because she's tough and a fighter like he is, but even that was a stretch. I wrote Fox both as her own person but also to be compatible with him. Indeed, he is forcing her to slow down, I can hear the mental brakes screeching in my skull every time I write an emotional scene with the two of them in it. She wants everything and more from him but he just can't take it all at once and now she understands that just because he says 'wait' it doesn't actually mean 'no.' Its certainly not a typical relationship, but then again they're not typical people. I do have some sweet, fluffy moments planned for the two of them, but this is the Walking Dead after all, safety can only last so long before the horde comes over the rise to tear it apart… Thanks so much for writing in!

**ThoseNights**: _Okay. So. I've literately re-read this chapter at least ten times. I devoured the whole story in two days. This is really incredible and I love it. Hoping for an update soon. You're a lovely writer, keep up the good work :)_

Haha, you know, you're not the only one doing re-readings. I've re-read each chapter at least ten times too, trying to make each and everyone perfect, lol. Wow, 2 days? I'm impressed, because at the end of Chapter 16, the story stands at 143 single spaced Microsoft word pages. Thanks for dropping in to say hello, it warms my writer's heart and makes my Muse smile =)

** X23 Maximoff**:_Hooooooo dang. Need a cold shower after that one. I'm not gonna lie, the beginning was a little slow...but that may be because I'm all hopped up on sugar. Once you got to Fox arriving in Atlanta (round 2) though...brilliant. Everything brilliant. The emotions that they each hold towards their past, and towards each other...I love love love how nervous Daryl was. You write him wonderfully. I could feel the rolling boiling feelings within him - how he was nervous and terrified and unsure and yet couldn't stop because something felt right and hell if he was going to stop it! Absolutely wonderful. Can't wait for the next chapter! -XM_

Haha, yay! That was the effect was hoping for! (The need for a cold shower part, XD) And that's totally fine, be honest, brutally honest, I want to know all your thoughts about my work, its so important for me as a writer to get feedback of all kinds. When I was writing Fox's background in general, I debated on giving her a past that was darker and more brutal than what I did, but it felt wrong…almost like competing with what Daryl's might have been like, plus, I didn't want Fox to be have been so badly damaged before the world ended. I drew inspiration for her past from my own experiences and also those of some of my close friends- all the things I've described in her background have either happened to me, or people that I know. I try to secure everything in at least a little bit of reality, just to make it punch that much more so to speak. I'm so glad you picked up on Daryl's nervousness because I /really/ debated on overhauling the entire scene in which they kissed and making him even more shaky, so I'm glad I didn't. Daryl is such a hard character to write sometimes because he's so much deeper than what you would take him for at first glance, and these are all new situations he's being thrust into, so judging a reaction is tough, but I'm glad people are responding so positively =D

**jalenreedmua** :_This story is so well written. It's not the cliche female version of daryl although she is a badass. I fucking love this_.

Why thank you! I really tried my best to make sure Fox /wasn't/ the cliched female version of Daryl, because in many ways they are similar, but I think they do have many fundamental differences, and yet I think they're still compatible, if that makes any sense, lol. I'm so glad I have continued to hold your interest =)

**Regin**:_ I Like, I Lust, I Love! Please Update Soon!_

It's always nice to know I create so many feelings in my readers, thank you much for dropping in to say so =)

**Emerald Gaze**: _Well now i know... but now i cant wait to find what goes down the next day what with them having a bonding moment, making out, 'sleeping' together and the incident with shane things should get interesting i'm also wondering if fox is gonna do a little bonding with beth at some time!_!_

Knowing Daryl and Fox, it won't stay touchy feely for long, they're both just too prickly for that, but we'll see what happens hm? And yes, little Beth, I love her character in the show, she's another odd one to survive but I like her a lot, so we shall see if Fox and her can make friends.

* * *

When he woke the next morning she was still there. It hadn't been her to wake him, at least not directly. She was perched on the window seat with the guitar in her arms, playing a soft bluesy melody. She plucked the deeper strings hard to keep time while her other fingers danced over the middle strings, creating a dark sound, almost like blues morphing slowly into rock and roll. He waited with a mischievous flutter of anticipation to see if she would sing.

"Watch the world stop turning. See the fires burning. Tell me there's something worth chasing." Her husky voice complemented the acoustic sound perfectly, grating just a little on the ends of her words. It was nothing like the Patsy Cline records his mother used to listen to, but it suited her perfectly.

"Listen for the lullaby, of gunfire and breaking bones. Hear the wolves howling, see the fires burning, tell me something worth believing."

She stopped when she looked at him and saw his eyes were open. He had to wonder how long she'd been watching him sleep and he slowly sat up, letting the muscles of his back and shoulders coil tightly before loosening in a stretch. An almost bashful smile slid onto her lips and she slowed her fingers, silencing the guitar.

"Don't stop on my account." He told her.

She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, something he noticed she did when she was feeling a little shy. Not that it happened often, but still.

"I was just messing around." She said, setting the guitar aside and tilting her head to look out the window. He noticed she was already dressed in dark blue jeans and her boots but her shirt was different- it was white with dozens of scrawled messages on it in different colored inks.

"Lyrics. Some I wrote, some that my group and I wrote together. Some from our favorite songs." She explained when she saw him staring. He nodded without speaking and he expected her to go quiet, but she didn't.

"I was saving it. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to face wearing it again."

It was just at that moment his head began to hurt in a slow, but steadily increasing throb. The whiskey was kicking him in the ass, just like it always did. It brought back the memory of last night. The fight with Shane, the fire, her body writhing beneath him as he kissed her. He swore to God he could still feel his lips tingling even now after sunrise.

She seemed to understand what he was thinking about, if the expression on her face was any way to judge. She got up from her seat and looked him in the eye, her expression cool and completely at ease, the picture of self satisfaction and without any trace of remorse. She was damn pleased with herself, almost like she'd gotten away with a crime. But she surprised him when she spoke.

"I can forget about last night." She told him quietly. "I won't be upset. You owe me nothing."

She turned to go but he caught her at the door, lurching up unsteadily thanks to the rush of dizziness that hit him. She turned back to look at him, one pale hand gripping the molding on the door frame.

"Ain't about that." He said, barely able to get the words out. What the hell was he telling her? He struggled to find the right words to say but she just flashed him a smirk and walked away, leaving his tongue twisted behind his teeth.

What the hell had he meant? What was she thinking they were now? What did he even think they were now? Questions swam through his brain, adding to the headache like a mule kicking him repeatedly in the skull. He sank down onto the bed and stared at his feet.

"Knock it off, Daryl. You were drunk, and that's all there was to it." He told himself before digging around under the bed for his boots, jerking them roughly on his feet before heading out of the room and going downstairs. In the back of his mind he could hear Merle jeering at him. Another shot of whiskey sounded really good right about now, not to drown out his brother's voice, but to ease the pounding in his skull. But somehow he knew that even if he could have a whole bottle of Jack Daniels it wasn't going to erase the ghost of her lips against his, the memory of the pain edged pleasure of her nails against his back, the way she set his flesh ablaze. Before he would have been entirely unsettled by this, and he would have resented and avoided her. Now…now he just wanted to know why. Why and how she could do this to him. Whether it was to make it stop or to take a headlong plunge into waters he'd never even thought about entering he hadn't decided.

Eventually he wandered down into the kitchen, lured by the smell of cooking food. Low and behold he walked into the room and saw T-dog at the stove, tending to a pan of eggs and hash browns.

"Where did all of this come from?" Lori asked as T-dog started dishing out plates of food while Maggie handed out silverware.

"There's plenty of potatoes left in the pantry, and there are chickens in a pen in the back yard. I'm surprised those…things…haven't gotten to them yet." Maggie explained. She tucked a short strand of brown hair behind her ear and glanced at Beth who managed to smile. The shy girl seemed in better spirits today but the real mood lifter was when Glenn staggered into the room and collapsed into a chair at the table.

"Don't ever let me drink again. Ever…" He put his head down on his arms and groaned, shaking fingers tightening in his hair. Even his skin looked tinged with the green of nausea and Daryl couldn't help but laugh.

"Can't hold your liquor, Chinaman? Least now you know not to go toe to toe with a Dixon." If he was going to be honest, his stomach was pitching through its own roller-coaster ride, but he knew that the food would do him good, and so he started wolfing down his plate.

"You're awful cheery this morning." Dale commented from where he was sitting by Andrea. She had drank an awful lot of wine last night as well, but unlike the rest of them who were comically shaking off their hangovers, she seemed shackled to the floor in a perpetual state of catatonic stupor.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact Fox slept in his room last night would it?" Shane drawled as he entered the room from the back door.

Everyone in the kitchen twisted to look at him and all of their eyes went wide. "Jesus Christ, Shane, what the hell happened to your face?" Lori asked, worriedly getting up from her seat and going towards him. He jerked away a little as her fingers tenderly brushed the molten bruises across his cheek and nose.

"Was getting up in the middle of the night and tripped up, hit my face on the side of the table. Almost broke my damn nose." He muttered, pulling away from Lori, lightly brushing her hands off when Rick twisted in his chair to look at what was happening.  
"Guess the whiskey hit you harder than you thought." Rick commented from where he was spearing a forkful of egg.

"Guess so." Shane said, but Daryl could see the hard spark of anger burning in his pupils. His stomach still hardened into a concrete ball and it was all he could do not to get up and break a few of Shane's teeth with his knuckles. His mouth was open to inform the rest of them about what happened last night on the porch, but he was stopped by Fox's appearance right behind him, her eyes glowing with a warning to keep quiet. Clearly she and Shane had been speaking alone, and for some reason she didn't want to voice what had happened. He wasn't sure why she wanted to keep what happened a secret, but for now, and only for now, he would listen. He didn't want to throw her under the bus just yet, not if she was planning on saying something on her own. But why she hadn't said something already he couldn't fathom.

"Nothing happened." Fox said with the most casual of shrugs as she slid past Shane towards the corner of the kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she saw these days could be considered the new black gold. A fresh pot of coffee. "I have more respect for my host than that." She said, nodding towards Maggie who seemed unsure what to do with the woman's acknowledgement. Fox didn't seem to notice as she poured herself a cup of coffee. There was no milk for cream but she did put in some sugar, completely unphased by the fact that half of the room was staring at her.

"That would be a first." Shane remarked.

"You wanna come outside and aggravate me some more? I wouldn't want you to not have room to turn tail and run when I move to castrate you." Fox snarled, her emerald eyes flashing violently. Clearly she had not forgotten what had happened, and really she did look just shy of gutting him on the kitchen table. Daryl's blood burned and he almost got up from the table to back her up.

"Hey, hey, enough." Rick growled from where he was sitting at the head of the table. "I don't know what's gotten into you two, but knock it off. We don't have time for this." He really did sound like he meant it but Fox couldn't be bothered to care. Her expression was of pure contempt. It reminded Daryl of the way she used to look when she'd been strung up in the quarry. Her eyes were cold as an arctic winter without a coat.

Daryl chose to say nothing but he moved with stiff, barely suppressed anger as he took his now empty plate to the sink. If there hadn't been so many mouths to feed he would have gotten seconds, but as it was he rinsed his plate and stacked it neatly with the others. Everything in him was screaming to say something, and he stared straight at Fox, trying to get her to explain in some way what her silence was about. But she barely even noticed he was staring. Instead she was staring straight at Rick with cold, ruthless eyes.

"That's right, Rick. Bring your dog to heel." She growled, flashing a shit eating grin at both him and Shane before setting her mug of coffee down and heading out the back door again, letting it slam behind her, her boots making definitive sounds as she walked away.

"Are you ever going to control her? Or are you going to let her do whatever she wants?" Lori asked as Daryl picked up Fox's abandoned cup and drank from it. It was sweeter than he would have made for himself but it wasn't overwhelming, and he wasn't about to let a cup of coffee go to waste.

"That wasn't just a shot at Shane." Dale commented quietly. "She meant that for you too, Rick."

Daryl knew what he meant. Fox was making cracks at Rick's ability, or lack thereof, to control the group. It was a dangerous thing to be doing, especially for her, and for the life of him Daryl couldn't understand why she continued to needle at every single person who's opinion really mattered. Was she trying to get herself kicked out and stranded on the highway?

Rick sighed and leaned his elbows on the table for a minute, staring down at his empty plate. "I'll talk to her. I'll make her understand, if she's going to stay with us, she can't be threatening us."

"Wait…is she not one of yours?" Maggie asked as she turned around from the sink.

"She was a prisoner just a few days ago." Shane commented, leaning against the counter. "She'd been sneaking into camp and stealing things. We finally caught her but shortly after our camp was attacked, and she's tagging along for the ride." His tone could have had a little bit more disdain in it, but it might have slopped out the sides.

"She helped Lori." Rick said, getting up from the table. "And she helped Glenn and Daryl get out of Atlanta with the supplies we needed. She's apart of us. She's just…"

"Different." Beth answered very quietly. She didn't say it like a bad thing. Just the truth.

Rick set his plate into the sink and headed out the back door, Daryl following close behind.

"Just so I know, who's side are you on, hers or ours, because I can never tell with you." Rick muttered when he realized Daryl was following him. The two men were standing on the back porch looking out over a patch of grass that was kept mowed down and beyond that was a wide field where the grass had grown knee high and swayed back and forth in the breeze. Trees lined the edges of the fences that bordered the property, and towards the edge of the mowed part of the grass Daryl could see the small shed where the chickens must have been kept.

"It ain't about sides. Not if she's really one of us." Daryl muttered, staring Rick in the face. "Shane's got it out for her, Rick." It killed him to keep quiet about what had happened. Everything in him wanted Rick to know, for him to understand that his friend wasn't the same person he thought he was. And another part of him, and he had no idea that it even existed until that moment, burned with anger against Shane, as though he had touched something that belonged to him, that he had no right to get his greedy fingers on. That possessiveness startled him into silence and Rick took that opportunity to speak.

"Yeah, I know. Shane tried to mess with her last night, she told me. He was shit-faced drunk and Shane has always had a way of sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, especially when he's had too much. I'll talk to him but not in front of the group. Same as I want to talk to her." Rick's hands were on his hips now as he stared Daryl down. Or tried to at least, but Daryl wouldn't yield.

"Sticking his dick is more like." Daryl growled low in his throat.

He could see the cogs whirring in Rick's head. Daryl realized then that whatever Fox had told him was probably only a half truth, and Rick was trying to decide if Daryl had been literal or metaphorical. The way he answered said metaphorical, but Daryl could still see his brain chewing it over.

"She can't be picking fights all the time. If she wants to be apart of us, she has to act like it. She's got to get along with people. I won't have her causing trouble and putting everyone on edge. She has to trust us if she wants us to trust her." He sounded exhausted as he spoke, the sleep deprived shadows under his eyes only deepening.

"Or what? You'll cuff her to a roof like you did with Merle?" Daryl couldn't help it; it slipped from between his teeth before his thin filter could even try to catch it.

"Daryl. I did what I had to do." Rick's voice was thick with warning and he could tell already that he wasn't about to be messed with. He decided to back off, at least for now, especially when he remembered the flashbacks of him, Glenn, and T-dog in Atlanta, dodging geeks and vatos and finding the van stolen, leaving them for dead. Daryl didn't have to be on that god forsaken rooftop to know that whatever had caused Rick to cuff Merle there had been serious enough to warrant it. He sometimes wondered what he would have done had he been there, but never for very long. The situation at present was him on his own in this group, and without Merle's influence, he no longer felt the need to be so aggressive. Rick was watching him with a calculating expression, as if he was expecting an answer or explanation of some kind. Normally Daryl didn't give a damn about people's expectations, but where Fox was concerned…it was a different story.

"I talked to her last night. Guess the alcohol loosened up her tongue. At any rate, she's not…normal. She wasn't raised around anybody except her family. She doesn't know how to talk to people." He didn't know why he was defending her, it wasn't something he had ever done for anybody else before except for Merle. After everything she had done…everything she had put him through…but he still couldn't let go of the way she made him feel- not just what (because hell if he had a name for it) but simply how much. He'd never had so many emotions all at once in his entire life put together until he'd met her, and while sometimes it frustrated the living shit out of him, she was too close now, too ingrained in him to leave her stranded, especially since she seemed oblivious to how close she was coming to riding that lonely road on her own.

Rick's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" Daryl could see the underlying statement in that sentence too, which was 'and you do know how to talk to people?' He brushed it aside and kept going, choosing his words carefully.

"It ain't my place to say, you want her story, go ask her. I'm just saying, if you want the truth about what goes on with her, just ask. She ain't shy."

Rick looked about ready to roll his eyes at him but stopped out of what might have been a kernel of respect. "What's going on with you and her? She's got you wrapped around her finger by the looks of it."

Daryl suppressed the urge to flip him off. "Screw you man. All I'm saying is don't just take Shane's side of the story." A pulse of bristling anger rolled over his skin but he suppressed it before it could launch into a full scale burn. Rick was only doing his job as leader- being observant. But his pride rebelled at the thought of anybody else thinking she had power over him somehow. Yeah, he'd kissed her…so the fuck what. It wasn't like they were getting married or nothing. Jesus Christ, both of them had, had enough whiskey to get a horse drunk. He was beginning to regret the whole damn situation by the fire last night- except for the memory of her touch and the pleasurable heat that rolled through him every time he recalled the experience.

Rick sighed. "I am going to talk to her. But not right now. Right now we have work to do. Fetch her and bring her back to the house, we have to talk about getting a perimeter set up."

Daryl nodded and without another word went back inside to get his crossbow and his gun before heading out the front door. He knew where Fox would be, or he had a damn good guess. He didn't like playing errand boy but he knew she wouldn't come back on her own volition, at least not until she could sneak in unseen.

He turned out not to be wrong- he found her the same place they had built their fire last night. She was crouched down by the ashes, running her fingers through the slightly damp grass, her eyes closed, breathing in deeply.

"What did you tell Rick?" he asked, not bothering to be soft in his tone.

She turned around and sighed, like he was intruding on her or something. He might have been but hell if he cared. If he was going to stick his neck out for someone, they owed him an explanation.

"Not the truth." She answered, starting to walk away, but she tilted her head, allowing him to follow without a fuss.

"No shit." He muttered, annoyance prickling through him. Had he really let his guard down enough to swap spit with her last night? Fuck he was slipping. Slipping hard. No more drinking when she was present, that was for damn sure. He couldn't take being jerked around like this, it was enough to drive any man insane.

"I have my reasons." She told him with a shrug, her boots becoming silent as they crossed from the trees and back onto the stretch of green grass that lined the road behind the oak trees leading up to the house.

"Do I get to know them or do you just get to bite my face and leave me in the dark?" he demanded, shouldering his bow and staring her down. And just like always, she stared straight back, no mercy or quarter given.

"Look. No matter what Rick says, I'm not apart of your group. At least not yet. Fuck, maybe not ever, and I don't really care except for the fact that I can't make it out there on my own. I'm not like you, I don't know how to hunt for myself and by the time I'd learn, either a Walker would have got me or I'd starve to death. So as much as I hate it, I need you people. Because I've got to sleep sometime, and you're right, having someone to watch your back while your eyes close is a damn good reason to stick around. But I'll be damned if I grovel or lie on my back and let them fuck me over just because I didn't meet you on some god forsaken highway out of hell or I was helpless like Maggie and Beth. I'm doing it on my own terms, and I need leverage over Shane or he'll corrupt the rest of you one by one until Rick throws me out. What happened last night is perfect. He knows as long as Rick is in the dark he has to bend to what I say or I'll tell Rick, including staying the hell away from me. I won't be able to prove it forever, but hopefully long enough for the others to trust me."

"You'll only be able to prove it until the cut on his chest heals. So you better hurry up and get to work. Speaking of which, Rick wants us. He wants to start setting up a perimeter." He understood her reasoning, and yet he didn't. If it had been up to him he would have told Rick flat out what Shane had tried to do. Rick was a decent man, he would have handled it, but even as the thought crossed his mind Daryl had to wonder. Would he really have? Shane was Rick's best friend, had been for years, and Fox was a dangerous stranger. Would he have believed her? Even if he had…what would he have really done about it? Tie Shane up? Handcuff him to the RV and leave him to bake in the sun as punishment? The unlikely odds of what really could have been done were almost staggering. So even more now he understood why she was manipulating the situation to her benefit, but it still didn't sit well with him.

She nodded and followed him back to the house but he sensed anger from her. "I'm trying, ok? I never had to filter anything until I met you people. And it's not cause I want to. I know better than to really fuck with you guys. I'm not stupid. But God damn it, I hate censoring. The world has fucking gone to shit, why the hell shouldn't I be able to say what I really think? If more people did, less sneaky shit would happen and things wouldn't implode all around us at the worst possible second. And not being able to do what I really feel like is my right is just…" Her teeth ground together and Daryl had a flinching moment of pain for her. She wanted justice against Shane, her own justice.

He gently touched her by the wrist as they climbed up to the porch, stopping her from going inside. "I get it, ok? When I lived with Merle if he pissed me off I could throw a punch and knock his teeth out and it was fine, and he could do the same to me. I've had to adjust too. Rick will probably put us into teams of two to cover the ground here, you can stay with me." He offered it to her for his sake as well as hers. This was as far as he'd ever bent for anyone as far as patience went, and he wasn't going to bend much more. He'd bent this far for her because he understood her. She was so like in him in many ways, independent and stubborn and abrasive. And she understood him in kind. Without Merle, she was really the only one who understood him…maybe even more so than Merle had. But just like she'd been doing since they'd met, she pushed it too far.

She rolled her eyes. "Such a knight in shining armor you are." She spat. She turned on her heel to go inside but now his temper got the better of him. He grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around to face him.

"What the hell is your problem? You're a pretty damn stuck up bitch for needing us as badly as you do." It wasn't just anger and frustration going through him, it was confusion too. He didn't understand why she was so resistant to getting along with the rest of the group, to biting her tongue and just not stomping on everybody's toes. Hell, even he had managed that. And he'd be damned if he let her just walk all over him. He might have some kind of thing going with her, but that wasn't a license to treat him like a whipped dog. Far from it.

Her eyes burned with green fire but she didn't try to escape his grip. She stood and stared at him, something that might have even been rage inside her eyes. He held her gaze, never even so much as flinching. This was a test of wills, a test of dominance, he could feel it just as clear as he could feel the unrelenting Georgia sun on his back. He'd gone toe to toe with some of the worst sons of bitches to be found, and he'd never backed down. That wasn't to say he hadn't lost a fight- he had, multiple times, but he'd never rolled over before, and he wasn't about to start now, especially not with her.

"I don't care what they think of me. I couldn't give a shit, so why can't I say what I want?"

"Cause you gotta give to get." He told her. He wanted to ease his grip on her arm because he knew he was probably hurting her a little, but he knew if he let go now she'd bolt. Something in him said that this was his one chance to get her to understand, to try and make her see how to get along with these people. What had happened with Glenn was just the tip of a very dangerous iceberg and he had a feeling she really didn't care if she imploded the whole thing around her. Whether it was because she couldn't see the consequences of her actions, or she was that hopeless that she thought it wouldn't matter if she destroyed her chances with them he didn't know. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to let it happen, not if he could do something about it. She was like an abused wild dog that they were all attempting to tame in different ways. Most wild animals bite at the hand that reaches for them, but she lunged straight for the jugular. Time was running out, eventually she was going to hit her mark, and they'd throw her to the wilds, and despite her skill with a blade, she had spoken the truth earlier. She couldn't fend for herself out there, she didn't know how, and she'd never learn in time on her own She had a point about Shane and his corrupting influence. The rest of the group was mostly on the fence about her, and Shane clearly had Rick's ear. If he poisoned enough people, even Rick himself, against her, who's to say they wouldn't throw her out?

"You can say whatever you want, to me." He told her. He had learned a long time ago, people didn't want advice, they wanted a solution to their problems. Well, he had one for her. He had a feeling he might be making a pact with a devil in disguise, but he was willing. He'd seen her fight, he'd seen her burn, and heaven fucking help his doomed soul, he wasn't going to let go of her.

She stared straight at him and he could see her cracking. He could see her claws slowly retracting even as her eyes melted from stones into glistening emerald pools. He could see her fighting it- and losing that fight. It made the knot in his chest loosen considerably.

"I don't understand you. I think you're one person one minute and then the next you flip the coin and I'm confused again." She said it almost as if she had music to go with it. His heart did weird flips in his chest, sending tingling sensations all the way to the tips of his fingers but his brain was still fogged with confusion. But he wouldn't let that stop him. He didn't exactly trust the roil of feelings sweeping over him, but there was nothing else to tell him what to do.

"You are still you. You're not caged." He murmured. He eased the grip on her arm, no longer afraid she would run. She turned and actually leaned into him, and for the first time that he was sober he moved towards her. At first he was incredibly stiff but when she didn't let go he felt like he had no choice but to loosen up. The top of her head met the hollow of his throat and he let his cheek rest in her hair, and with a jolt he realized that she smelled like him, a tang of smoke, sweat, and grassy heat.

"Not when I'm with you." She told him, looking up at him now and the unspoken truth was that was why she stayed with him. Because he allowed her to be who she really was without restraint, even if it drove him crazy. He sometimes pushed her away if he couldn't take it, but he didn't try to stop her. Rick, Shane, all the other members of camp, they all tried to change her, to force her into something she wasn't. It wasn't like they didn't have good reasons- her way of dealing with people was a really bad way to try and survive in this world, and she needed people now more than ever. But they all tried to constrain her, and he allowed her the freedom to be who she really was.

"So why do you keep fighting?" he asked. He was gentle as he spoke, but he still wanted an answer.

She arched up on her toes and tried to kiss him, one hand curling around the nape of his neck, threading the tips of her fingers through his hair. The way her fingers moved through his hair made little currents of electricity crackle across his skin and the animal part of him insisted that he should kiss her, but he held that part of himself down. He shifted away from her but she followed, just a hair's breath away from their lips meeting.

"Why do you keep running?" Her husky voice barely had any breath and her eyes had shifted from vulnerable to just a little wild and he had to wonder how her moods could swing so wide so quickly.

"I ain't running." He growled in his throat, every word scraping against his teeth not with anger but with restraint. "I just ain't up for foxy games."

She looked up at him and now more than ever he thought he might have a chance to break down one of the last, but most important, barriers between them. He didn't know why it was so important, maybe because it was so fundamental to their society, or maybe just to him, he didn't know.

"Tell me your name."

She smiled, just a little bit of the devil peeking through, but it was tamed by the humor glinting in her eyes. "You named me." She whispered softly. "Are you taking it back now?"

He sighed a little and let his forehead touch hers. She smiled just a bit, white teeth peeking through her lips. "No." he answered softly. "I just…" he stopped himself before he could sound so vulnerable.

She smiled, her green eyes gleaming like emerald mirrors, reflecting back at him all the things he could feel in himself. It was comforting to know she felt as off balance and confused and pulled as he did. It was frustrating to know that she could have stopped it if she wanted but chose not to, but then again, neither was he.

"It's alright you know, what you called me. It's accurate. But foxes aren't always bad guys, even in the stories. Sometimes they help. Sometimes they guide and bring good luck. And protect."

He tilted his head down at her and he wanted so badly to catch her lips under his and kiss her until she couldn't breathe, but he didn't. He was a little too rattled from their mental sparring match just now to be able to take anymore.

"You could be anything you want. Why did you let me name you?"

Another knowing smile toyed with her lips, the same one that had driven him crazy, in every sense of the word.

"If anyone in this camp was going to understand me, it was you. I knew it when I first saw you. I trusted you with that, even back then." She blinked up at him and he knew she felt the time pressure from being expected weighing on them both.

He let her go and she allowed him to slip back from her. It felt good to be able to breathe his own air again and slowly his nerves began to settle back down. She said nothing as they walked back inside together, but she didn't have to speak. Whatever it was they had, it went deeper than words. He was confident he would learn her eventually. If it meant that she would learn him…worm her way into all of those places he'd been so good at keeping people out for so long…so be it. Because he realized that he couldn't ask her to let go of every secret, everything she'd held onto so tight for so long, to give, without giving her something back. And for the first time he was sure it was worth it.

They went back inside and into the kitchen together. Shane twitched his eyebrows and Rick gave them both a once over, something undecipherable in his eyes, but he chose not to say anything and instead unfurled a map of the property open and spread it over the island and started laying out the plans for the patrols. Two man teams to each square of the property and he looked around each of them as he assigned who was working with who; Andrea and Dale, Glenn and Shane went together, he was paired with T-dog, and Rick went with Fox. It was as good as an arrangement as any. Rick did need to talk to Fox, and this would provide the opportunity to do so. He hoped that she would listen to him and just accept that whether she liked it or not, he was this group's leader, and since he was in a sense responsible for them, she needed to at least give him the respect that position was due. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of Rick being responsible for him…he'd always been responsible for himself and he'd never asked for anybody to look after him, he didn't need it. But the group needed a leader, and better Rick than Shane, any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

They broke the meeting and headed out to start the patrols. There was silence between him and T-dog for the vast majority of the trip, but it was something chosen by both men. Daryl had not exactly forgiven the man for dropping the cuff key down the drain on the rooftop that had caused his brother to hack off his own hand. However T-dog wasn't entirely to blame, and Daryl was man enough to admit that. Or at least base his decisions on that fact. Most of the patrol was very quiet, hardly anything moving as they made their way to the far side of the property, scouring for signs of Walkers or any other intruders. They were almost towards the end of their line and we're about to start heading back when things changed.

"Hey, you see that?" T-dog asked right as they were coming up to the fence on the far side of the field. It was bordered by a long, empty road that bent sharply about a mile north, and in the bend he thought he saw a flicker of motion going around the curve and then out of sight again. It was the fact that it was so out of place which made him both notice and take it seriously.

"Yeah, what you think it was?" Daryl asked as he crept closer, keeping his crossbow at the ready.

"Looked like a car to me." T-dog answered. He had a tight grip on his baseball bat but Daryl knew he was also packing a gun. They all were except for Fox and he thought she was crazy not to do so.

They approached the bend that was lined with thick trees, the leaves of which blew in the wind, rustling whispers as hot Georgia air was funneled down the road, bringing with it the smell of an impending storm. He looked up to the sky and saw the clouds beginning to gather in the distance. It would break right at five pm like usual, but the temperature of the air was dropping fast. It would last a while, not the usual thirty minutes. Daryl knelt down in the road and gently put his hand to the pavement. It was warm from having baked in the sun but he was looking for tire treads and saw none. That didn't mean a car hadn't been here though.

"Come on man, it was probably just a trick of the light." T-dog responded after several long seconds. "Let's head back."

Daryl got back up to his feet and stared down the road, another stretch of straight black top before a bend which curved the opposite way of the one they stood on now. He quieted his mind and tried to really listen, just like he did when he was hunting in the woods. Something felt off to him, like something _was _out there.

And it was watching him.


	18. Chapter 18

**_Well my wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again! I hope everyone had a safe and awesome New Years. Thanks for sticking with me for so long, it really means the world to me, and there's so much more to come. Enjoy! _**

**FanFicGirl10**: _Ooooh Cliffhanger! Could it be Merle? I love that Fox ans Daryl understand each other, and i believe when i say everyone will learn to trust Fox even bitch Lori, and see Shane for who he really is. :) I can't wait till Shane dies, soon hopefully. Loved it, Update Soon!_

Oh that Shane. He's such a bad guy but in some ways I love him cause I don't think he's really evil he's just twisted and misguided by his own emotions. That's what I love about this show, you can still see the humanity, albeit strangled and mutated, even in the bad guys. And let's see if Fox makes it any easier for the group to trust her, eh?

**ry123red**: _I hope Fox doesn't become too much of a problem for the rest of the group...I would hate for Daryl to have to choose between them and her. Anyways, another great chapter! I liked Daryl and Fox's intimate moment. The fact that they were just talking and didn't even kiss made it seem more personal in a strange way. haha. And hooray for Daryl making Fox open up a bit more about herself. Can't wait for the next chapter!_

They say that words ruin moments sometimes, but I think it can be just as powerful the other way around. It always has been for me anyway. Right at this moment I think if it came to a choice Daryl would still choose the group over Fox, but they both don't want it to have to come to that. The question is whether Fox's stubbornness will yield. We shall see ;)

**Emberka-2012**: _It would be better if Fox said to Rick the whole truth about Shane._

I'm inclined to think so to, but in writing the situation from Fox's point of view I had to dig down into why she wouldn't want to say anything. Daryl is just as confused and frustrated with her as the readers are, I'm sure.

**ladyd10**: _Thank you so much for writing more! With less seasons, you, writing Walking Dead, have put out more quality writing than a whole lot of other fan fics in other areas that I have read lately. I've had to correct so many folks in the facts as stated by canon that I loathe to read more. You, have the skills and the chops to write this Fox character and not offend the in canon people, one of which I am. More Fox and Daryl! You're an exceptional writer!_

You just have no idea how much I love reviews like this. The real challenge to writing this story, and in this fandom really, is to keep all of the characters in canon and not send things into a tailspin with an OC like Fox thrown into the mix. I'm deeply honored and thankful that you think I'm accomplishing that mission successfully, and that you like my OC to boot. I hope I continue to impress as the story moves forward.

** Emerald Gaze**: _Strangers really seem to like watching ... but i guess that's expected since we're all here for the same thing i like that daryl's willing to let her say anything she wants to him it's especially funny because of her shining knight comment pissing him off right before that. As soon as daryl noticed that shane and fox had been talking i knew why she wasn't letting him say anything and it was an interesting way to go about things. It turns out beneficial for fox and at the same time u managed to avoid making this chapter about a fight. Also i'm looking forward to rick's talk with fox i'm really wondering if he'll actually ask about her past and how receptive she'll be to the whole situation!_!_

That's why Fox sticks so close to Daryl is because he'll let her say and be whoever it is she is without taking it out on her like she's a bad person or needs to change. He'll rebuff her sometimes and certainly be frustrated and confused by it, but he hasn't tried to stop her. He doesn't want her to get kicked out of the group so he's trying his best to get her to see reason, and we'll see if that happens ;) I knew right from the off that Fox wasn't going to say anything to Rick about what happened with Shane if she could help it, and I was glad to find a plausible reason as to why when I was writing it. Fox has nothing specifically against Rick, she's just not cool with the idea of someone else being in control of her or her fate, so we'll see how their interaction plays out.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**:_ I love the cliffhanger ending with Daryl! I cannot wait to read the next chapter. I really like how Fox and Daryl's relationship is developing and now I want to know Fox's name even more! Ahahahaha. Amazing writing as always!_

Lol, everyone wants to know what Fox's name is. Just so you know, I do have a name for her and she will give it up…eventually. *evil laugh*

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Such a great chapter! Loved the interaction between Daryl and Fox. If Daryl was going to have a romance with someone it would have to be someone like Fox!_

I totally agree. I never ever picture him with someone like Carol. I mean I really like Carol don't get me wrong, but she feels waaaaay to much like a mother figure towards Daryl for there to be any romantic thing between them. I'm glad Fox comes off as a good match for him =)

**hayleyjune13**: _Oh my goodness this is amazing! Please update soon! _

Well hi there new reviewer! Thanks for dropping in with such a lovely comment. =)

**Regin**: _I Love, I Like, I Lust!Please Update Soon!_

Well I am certainly glad I haven't disappointed you yet =D

* * *

He finally turned away from the curve in the road and followed T-dog back towards the house which was about a mile and a half back the way they'd come. The house sat in the center of the square which made up the plantation's property which extended about three miles in all directions. Logic told him that he hadn't seen anything and it had just been a trick of the light on the road, but the prickling in the back of his neck wouldn't let him forget it entirely.

By the time they made it back up to the house the most of the others were waiting for them, including Maggie, who stood with her arms folded on the back porch. Fox and Rick were the last to get back, and Daryl watched the way she walked carefully. Poised, each step measured, falling shoulder to shoulder with Rick. Inside he smiled a little bit. Never one to give any ground his girl, even if she was pinned down.

_Wait just a half a fucking second…where the hell did that come from? _It was like the two opposing thoughts collided head on, both going sixty miles an hour. Since when was she 'his'? Since when did she belong to him in any way shape or form? Yes…Rick had asked him to keep an eye on her, which kind of made her his responsibility but…what the hell? It would have been comical if he hadn't been so inwardly disturbed at the strangeness of the feeling, in part because the feeling wasn't all bad. He put it out of his mind, refusing to think about it anymore.

"Anybody see anything?" Rick asked as soon as they were in ear-shot.

"Just a couple Walkers, we took them down easy though." Glenn answered. They'd had the back line of the square of the property, the one that led into the woods where he and Fox had been last night.

Shane nodded in agreement. "There's a lot of other fields and farms surrounding this area though, there's probably Walkers crawling all over this whole place. I don't feel right about this, Rick."

"Did you see any sign of another herd?" Rick asked, glancing at both men carefully.

Glenn shook his head. "No, nothing. The two we took down looked local, they were wearing farm clothes and stuff like that, probably people who used to live around here."

Rick nodded and turned to the others. Dale chose to answer for him and Andrea saying, "We didn't see anything. The road and the field were clear."

"You guys see anything?" Rick asked nodding his head towards T-dog and Daryl.

He didn't wait for T-dog's approval. "Yeah, something weird. We'd just crossed one of the fields and were about to head back when we thought we saw a car going around the bend. It was only for a second, so it could have just been a heat wave, but its worth keeping an eye out for." He shifted his crossbow in his arms and caught Fox's eyes but her expression was unreadable.

"Wouldn't be the first time you saw something that wasn't actually there." Shane muttered.

And just like that he went from relatively calm to ready to throw down. "I've had just about enough of your mouth!" Daryl snapped, advancing on the other man.

"Yeah and I've had just about enough of your white trash fists flinging everywhere when someone points out the truth!" Shane snarled back.

"Enough!" Rick yelled, stepping between them. "If we want to make this work we have got to stop fighting amongst ourselves and work together! We can fortify this place and we can make it our own. There's wells on the property and food, we could stay here, permanently, but we have to be able to get along with each other!"

"Let them have it out." Fox said with a shrug, using one of her little knives to dig grit out from under her nails. "Isn't that what guys do? Throw punches and beat the crap out of each other and then they're friends?"

"Fox…don't." Rick warned. His eyes were deadly serious now, more so than Daryl had ever seen them before aside from a battlefield.

"Suit yourself." She answered before sheathing her knife and going inside. Daryl watched her go, almost ashamed he didn't have the guts to follow her, instead waiting for Rick to let them go.

"Alright everybody split up and cool down. We'll discuss plans to fortify the perimeter over dinner. For now, just…take five. Or ten. Or whatever it is you need." Rick said, waving his hand dismissively before wandering off towards the back yard of the house. Most everyone else went inside except for Shane who moved to talk to his friend. Daryl watched as he shrugged him off. Shane came back towards the house, shooting daggers with his eyes before moving past Daryl and going inside. Daryl waited several long moments before following him. He needed to talk to Fox, and he knew where he would find her.

True to form she was up in the room they had shared, sitting on the window seat playing the guitar. Her fingers worked the strings like a well-schooled lover. The instrument gave a low, mournful sound and she hummed quietly, her foot tapping against the floor as her eyes closed. When she heard the creak of his footsteps she looked up and opened her eyes, watching him as he shut the door with a quiet snap.

At first he didn't know what to say and it appeared that she didn't know either because for a long time they just held each other's gazes, occasionally looking away but always finding the other's eyes again.

"Did Rick talk to you?" he finally managed to ask.

She shook her head ruefully but he realized she didn't mean no. When she opened her eyes again and looked at him she tilted her head towards the window seat and he decided he might as well, and so sat across from her waiting for her to answer.

"Yeah, he talked to me." She said, turning her eyes away from him and back to the guitar. It irritated him a little, but he didn't force her. "He seems to think he can make me come when called."

He smirked a little, despite himself. "You're the one that keeps telling him to make Shane heel. It ain't really his fault that he's using that against you now."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care. If it were up to me I'd cut Shane's teeth out with the dullest knife I have but apparently that's frowned upon even in this lack of society. So if Rick doesn't give a shit what Shane does, I guess I shouldn't either." She set the guitar down, leaning it gently against the wall, but he swore he saw her shaking with repressed anger.

He understood where she was coming from. All her life she'd been used to fighting for herself, getting what she needed without thinking about how it effected anybody else, because for so long there hadn't been anybody else. He sat across from her on the window seat, watching the way her fingers curled like claws in front of her, bloody red hair tumbling around her face, green eyes laced with something that might have been hate if not for the pain he saw there. He wanted so badly to soothe her disquiet but he didn't know how. Instead he set his feet upon the path he'd come to finish walking when he came up here to talk to her.

"Stop fighting. Rick's a decent man. Let him prove it." He told her.

She turned to him, fixing him with a steely stare. He didn't look away and although his heart rate had increased he kept his breathing calm. He wouldn't show that inside he was a little rattled. She looked as lethal as a gun in the face, but when she spoke, her voice was soft.

"What's your secret?" she asked, her hair framing her face with tangled loose curls. Her pale skin was half cast in the fading golden light of the sun as storm clouds rolled in over the plantation, the other half just barely tinged with the flush of life. Her fingers curled again, as though she was trying to restrain herself, but from doing what he didn't know.

"I have no secret. I ain't afraid of people." He told her. He knew he was taking a risk by saying that, but he figured it was a risk worth taking. If it really came to blows between the two of them, he could handle her. The irony was not lost on him how in such an intimate moment, in which they were close enough to kiss, they were also straddling a line of possible violence.

In that one instant his words left his teeth her eyes burned so hot he actually thought she might lose control and try to strike him. He held his ground despite the ferocious look in her eye and slowly, very slowly, the rage began to simmer down again.

"I hate this." She finally said, something that wasn't exactly defeat in her tone. Even though it wasn't entirely clear what she meant by that, he could guess, because he could feel everything that was churning through her just as sure as he could feel it in himself. It hadn't just been people or a place to rest his head that he'd lost in this imploded world. He'd lost his independence, the freedom to do and say as he pleased. To look after himself without factoring in how it might affect someone else, and she had too, although her definition of looking after herself was a far cry from what most people would have defined it as. But it didn't matter. The principle was the same, and he understood how helpless and constrained she felt. The difference was that despite how hard his father and Merle had tried to beat it out of him, he could trust others. She didn't. He trusted Rick to do what was necessary to keep the group safe and supplied as well as could be had. And even if Rick failed... he could fend for himself if he had to. Facing the world out there without backup wasn't a comforting thought, but it could be done. She didn't have that same sense of security. And he understood how on edge and how hateful that uncertainty could make someone.

"Don't waste the energy." He told her, speaking softly, as gently as his rough voice would allow. "It ain't worth it, Fox."

"Why not?" she asked him. Her voice was almost shaking as she did so but she didn't look like she would cry. Maybe shatter might have been the better word.

"It's like when you were running through the woods and you'd take the hill at a run. Most of us would have broken our necks, but you knew how to run with the momentum to your advantage. You have valuable skills that contribute to the group. You have momentum. You just have to stop fighting it."

She unclenched her fingers for a moment, sharp white teeth biting at her bottom lip. She leaned forward and he couldn't stop the softest gasp that slipped from between his teeth when her skin met his. The contact was warm and tingled pleasantly and even though a ripple of nervousness went through him he didn't pull away.

"And if I do, and it gets me killed, where am I then?" she asked. She didn't look up at him and so he dared to reach for her and gently tilt her head up with his fingers under her chin. Cobalt blue met emerald green and Daryl swore his heart stopped. In some ways staring down at her like this he could see everything she was beneath her skin; a tangled seething mass of whispered trusts and half truths, visceral emotions, heat and chill to the bone, satin, sandpaper, and calloused fingertips against skin. She was no pretty face, but she was raw, burning brighter than a diamond set to blaze, more real than anything he had ever known in his life, and he knew now he'd never see anyone the same way as he saw her.

"Trust me." It was barely above a whisper, the words rasped on the air but somehow it made her smile.

She let her lips brush his, such a fleeting touch at first he thought he had imagined it. She gaged his reaction, seeing if he would pull away or allow her to continue. A part of him wanted to draw back, feeling the way he was starting to shake but he didn't let that uncertainty drive him away this time. He asked her to trust him, it wasn't really fair to ask that of her and give her nothing in return.

When he remained where he was, she kissed him again, a gentle motion of her lips against his with a little more pressure than before. He drew in a shaking breath but fought down his instinct and drove himself forward, reaching for her this time, wanting more of that contact, despite the way it made him quiver. He swore he felt her smile a little and let her fingers thread through his hair gently before curling around the nape of his neck. Now his inexperience showed as he awkwardly tried to deepen the kiss, but to her immense credit, she did not chide his attempts. Instead she let one hand slide down to cup his cheek and jaw while her mouth moved more insistently against his, parting his lips, letting her tongue creep forward to test his boundaries. He was shaking outright now, no way to hide it anymore, but he didn't pull away or stop her. He opened up to her and felt her explore him more gently now than the night by the fire. They were sober and conscious of each other's wants and needs and the feeling like they were playing a game of catch with a glass egg over a field of concrete. One false move and everything would shatter. He felt like he would break apart at the seams but he knew he wouldn't and so he ignored every fear, every resistance, and leaned into her, one hand coming up to thread through her hair. It felt so good, the cool strands tangled through his fingers, not silky smooth but supple and so real. She smelt like the woods and sunlight and dust motes on a lazy summer day and somewhere inside he heard Merle screaming at him in disgust but it was drowned out by the sound of her breathing and the feeling of his tongue creeping past her lips, guided gently by hers. He was content to play the game of come and seek with their tongues for a while longer but after a few minutes which really only seemed like split seconds, he felt her fingertips winding down his neck and then on his chest, popping the first two buttons on his shirt open. He cursed the way he gasped but it was too late now and he pulled away from her.

"Are you ok?" she asked, pleased to hear she sounded breathless but still embarrassed that one little touch had him backing out.

"I'm fine." He growled and reached for her again. He had just caught her lips between his own when she twisted slightly and pulled away.

"Don't play that game." She panted, running her fingers through her hair, fluffing her bangs and pushing them away from her eyes. "If you're not ready don't force it."

In some ways he was still embarrassed that she was the one having to lead in this awkward physical dance they were weaving together but most of him was relieved that she wasn't disappointed in him. She offered him a knowing smile and then she scooted back slightly, picking up the guitar and setting it in her lap.

Neither of them spoke again for a long time, but they didn't move away from each other either. He stayed and listened to her play and heard her say all the things she would never be able to say with words that she could say with music. He could hear her pain, her loneliness, but running through it was fire, and like fire it burned, but it brought with it heat and light and protection. The music eased slightly and became softer, more melodic and sweeter like drizzled honey over biscuits. The whole time she never stopped playing; changing the notes, the patterns, the rhythms, pulling him on an emotional roller-coaster ride the likes of which he'd never experienced before. He'd felt all of the things she pulled from him at one time or another, but never because of just a few notes plucked from strings. At first he tried to fight it, resistant that he could be reduced to such a sentimental pool of emotional goo, but eventually he found himself leaning back against the wall on the window seat across from her and closing his eyes, just listening to the humming strings of the guitar spiraling up and down. When he did dare to steal a look at her after such a long time he thought it surely had been hours, he saw her staring out the window, aimlessly allowing her fingers to wander across the instrument, a solitary tear sliding down one golden cheek.

When she played the last note and finally set the guitar aside she looked to him again. "Thank you." She whispered after a long moment of silence broken only by the sound of the rain.

"For what?" He wasn't going to complain, but hopefully an interpretation would be forth coming.

"For admitting the truth. It was more than I could do." She looked up at him with a small, knowing look that wasn't quite a smile but it was somewhere along those lines. He said nothing but that seemed alright with her. When she eventually pulled away it was because they had both heard the sounds of dinner being prepared downstairs and both of them knew they'd be expected. He got up from the window seat and walked towards the door, glancing at her when she didn't follow.

"Go on ahead, I'll be along in a minute." She said, nodding to him. He tilted his head and she watched him go, inwardly grinning.

"You sure know how to pick 'em girly." It was something one of her group would have said to her. It was killing her to have to move so slowly with him, but she had been assured tonight that whatever it was he felt for her, it went deeper than a drunken snatch and grab with teeth and tongue. He was in it for the long haul and even though it amazed her, she was pleased by it.

She mulled over why she was so attached to him, because even though the bond she'd had with her friends had been deeper than anything she'd ever known before, this was different. The bond with her friends had been made out of steel cables tied to each of them, holding them together, made of mutual love of things that they held dear to their hearts. Her bond with him was different. It was like layers of braids, slowly more and more threads being added to each other, a writhing living thing that kept changing all the time. And the rest of the group factored into that braid too. She knew they were teaching him that people couldn't be disregarded, and they were teaching her that too. It was not lost on her the way they had pulled in close the first night in this house, the way the walls came down, they smiled and laughed and basked in the warmth of each other's company. Part of it could be attributed to the alcohol, but she had been able to feel that it ran deeper than that. These people had risked their lives for each other, multiple times, without asking for anything in return. They looked out for each other. It was an incredible thing to watch, how a group of total strangers had banded together to take care of each other, not only out of mutual need, but now also out of respect. Maybe even love in some half twisted unnamed sense of the word. Yes, they had their bad aspects- Shane and his never ending quest to upset the delicate balance of peace between them- but she knew there was always that one black sheep of the bunch that unsettled everything. She had a feeling everyone had thought that black sheep was Daryl, but she could see that they were realizing he wasn't. True he was different than they were, he saw the world in a very different light, but he would still fight for them. Maybe even die for them.

She didn't like to admit it, but she wanted to be apart of that more than she could ever put into words. Daryl had realized she'd been looking for assurance that if she trusted them she would still be safe, that she didn't have to do this all on her own, and it loosened the knot in her chest considerably. It wasn't undone yet, but she had a feeling it would be with time, and even though that made her tremble, she was strong to enough to stand and face it. Now that she knew she had someone who would always understand who she really was, who she would always need to be in order to remain sane in this crazy fucked up world. In front of the group they were just friends, maybe even some weird version of partners in crime. But in private they were different. They were closer than friends but they weren't family and they weren't lovers. She knew he didn't have a lot of experience with bonds that ran deep and she didn't either. She didn't know the rules to this game, just playing it by ear and stumbling forward, trying not to care if she screwed up but she did care. She cared enough to unbend her pride and do what he asked of her, which was to control herself around the group. She hated it...but she had realized that he was worth it. He was worth what would become her silence and bitten tongue in front of them. Why was he worth it? Her fingertips touched the ghost of his grip on her arm, no longer hurting, and smiled. That too didn't have words, but it didn't have to. It was simply the way he made her feel alive and complete when he was close. Like she had something left in this fucked up world to fight for.

But then there was the matter of Rick. Rick was a wildcard in her deck. He tried to collar her, to bend her to his will…and yet he trusted her with something incredibly important. He had told her what he had found at the CDC, something he had not even shared with Shane or his wife. It still struck her dumb at the thought that he would trust her for its safekeeping and now she withdrew it from around her neck on its chain and held it in her palm. It was so fragile and yet so powerful…she couldn't begin to fathom what the consequences of its use might be. But it would be needed. Needed just as much as food, water, guns, bullets, and an iron will to fight would be needed. She didn't know if it was God, Fate, or her knack for throwing herself into precarious situations that could go down in flames that had landed her in this position, but even now, she trusted Rick's decision. She still remembered their softly spoken words this morning on the patrol.

"You're different from the rest." He had said. "You see the world in a way that focuses on not just what must be had to survive, but to live. I wasn't wrong when I said you are the only one strong enough to do what's necessary."

"Don't think I'll be the one you can go to pawn off your responsibilities." She had growled, but when Rick had stopped dead in his tracks, she had stared him down, but softened as she did so. "But I will do this for you. You didn't ask for what the group gave you, and no matter what you or anybody else says, you can't do this on your own. I understand that. I want to stay with the group and so I will pull my weight, including safe guarding this." She had twined her fingers around the chain and she saw the way his eyes flashed before she released it and let it slide beneath her shirt again.

"Thank you." He'd said with a slight nod of his head. "The other thing is I want to know what your intentions are with Daryl."

She'd cocked an eyebrow at him as they'd resumed their march. "What do you mean? I have no intentions."

He fixed her with a steely blue eyed stare. "That's bull and we both know it. You've hardly left his side since I cut you loose."

"If you're afraid I'll send him running for the hills, consider it energy ill spent." She said with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

He hadn't bought it that easy. "Then what is it?"

She locked eyes with him, absolutely unyielding and yet as easy to dip into as a pool of water. She smiled at him but there was mischief and tricks in it and he was unsettled a bit.

"I told you. He won't leave. He talks a talk sometimes, but he won't go. He's been looking for this chance all his life; he's not fool enough to throw it away. Now me…" she chuckled a little. "That's a whole other game. But don't worry, Rick. Just watch what happens when it's Daryl, not Shane, that you look to for help."

He had stared at her with incredible surprise but also with the smallest spark of agreement. So small that maybe he couldn't really see it light up any new ideas…but he could feel it nonetheless and she'd seen it. They had said more as they'd walked, she'd fed him more of the half truth about what happened with Shane last night. His eyes had been cool and calculating and she suspected he knew he was lying, but it didn't matter to her. Her feud with Shane was between her and the ex-cop, and for now, Rick didn't need to be involved. She had told Rick an abbreviated version of what had happened in her childhood and the demise of her group in Atlanta, and he had actually offered his condolences which surprised her, but she had done her best to show she was grateful. That didn't mean she'd walk at his heel, and when she'd come into camp directly at his side, her eyes had sought out Daryl and inside she had writhed with delight when she'd seen approval in his eyes. She wasn't entirely sold on him as a leader but she would do as Daryl had said and trust, and give him a chance to prove himself.

She got up to her feet, steadying herself with a deep breath in and found herself smiling, thankful that despite everything that had happened, that she was here and that she had found Daryl and the rest of the group. In the back of her mind she heard the laughter of her friends, their ghosts cavorting around her as her skin slid beneath the fabric of her t-shirt, their handwritten words pressed against her lovingly just like their hands had been not such a long time ago.

"Be proud of me guys." She whispered before walking out of the room.

She was almost to the staircase and was about ready to head down it when she heard something coming from one of the other rooms. She paused and listened again and now she was sure of what she heard. Sobbing.

At first she thought it was Andrea but then as she crept closer she recognized the voice a little bit more. Lori. Why was Lori crying?

"Lori, are you ok?" Fox asked tapping lightly at the cracked bedroom door, deciding not to intrude just in case.

"Fine!" the older woman called, quickly coming to the door and pulling it open, wiping her cheeks a little bit. "I'm fine, I'll be down in a minute."

Fox nodded and decided to let the matter alone. She could see that something was obviously distressing her but she wasn't sure what. Deciding not to press the wife of her judge so to speak, she went down the stairs and joined the rest of the group.

Lori exhaled a fervent sigh of relief when she heard the footsteps outside her door retreat. She got up from the bed she'd been sitting on and hastily went to the vanity mirror attached to the dresser and wiped at her cheeks, scrubbing away the tears, running her fingers through her hair, trying to normalize her appearance as much as she could. But when she stared back at herself, watching every flicker of motion in the glass, her composure threatened to crack into a million pieces all over again.

How could she let this happen? She'd never been so careless before in her life. At first she had refused to believe it could really be happening, but when Glenn had come back from Atlanta and given her the carefully concealed pregnancy test, there was no mistaking it. Basic biology was kicking her in the teeth and now she regretted every single moment of agonizingly delicious pleasure she'd ever felt at the hands of a man. Any man.

That was really what made this so horrible. Not knowing who the father was, and knowing that unanswered question was going to eat away at the two men she cared for most in the world. For everything that Shane was, and everything he wasn't, he had protected her, and her son, and had done everything in his power to make sure they were safe. Lying about Rick…it hadn't really been such a lie, had it? Who would have ever believed in a million years that he'd ever wake up from that coma, let alone crawl out of the hospital and make it out of a city full of Walkers alive, and on top of that, find them! How was she supposed to even believe that was possible? Sometimes she still didn't. Except when she felt his breath against the back of her neck, warm and reassuring, his body against hers, strong arms pulling her against him tightly.

She wasn't going to be able to hide this. Not for very long. So she had a choice. Find a way to end it, or risk trying to bring a child into this world…this horrible world of pain and death and fear and uncertainty. How could a newborn ever survive in a world like this, even if the whole group was looking out for them? They'd already lost so many able bodied people as it was…she didn't want to think about what it would be like when she was crippled by pregnancy or when the baby was born and would be such a heavy and dangerous burden to bare.

She stared at herself in the mirror, feeling the tears well up again. The self disgust at her selfishness and her carelessness threatened to overwhelm her, but she clenched her knuckles tight and closed her eyes.

She had to tell Rick. She didn't know how, but she knew that she was going to have to tell him. No matter what happened, she couldn't do this by herself- she couldn't do this without him. Because no matter what Shane said, this child would be Rick's. It would tear Shane's soul to pieces, she knew it, and she hated herself for it, but it had been his own damn fault for lying to her. If he had told her the truth, the whole truth, she would have never gone to bed with him.

_There you go again, lying to yourself. _She thought disgustedly. Because she knew it wasn't true. She would have gone to bed with Shane eventually…it was only a matter of time. Shit, even before the world had ended, she'd begun to see him differently. He would come around the house and she could feel herself drawn to him. In some ways he was so like Rick, and in many others he was so different. He was certainly different when it came to loving. Rick was gentle and tender and made her feel desired and safe and so loved it was almost painful. Shane was wild and unashamed and could send her body to the stars so fast it should have been criminal.

But things were different now. The end of the world had begun to change Shane. No longer was he the honestly motivated caretaker that had stepped up to take Rick's place for herself and for Carl. He was slowly becoming someone she didn't recognize…and yet someone that was needed. He was willing to take action, affirmative action, right in the moment, to ensure that what was needed to be done got done. His choices had consequences, some of them could even be severe. Rick was better at biting his tongue and waiting to see the best course of action, but sometimes there wasn't time to wait. Sometimes you had to make a call and live with what happened. Shane could do that. Rick was different. She could already see Rick threatening to break under the stress of what he was forced to do day in and day out.

_You have no right to abandon him. Not now. _

She turned away from the mirror, wiping at her cheeks one last time. Her feelings might be conflicted, but no one would have to know that. Rick was her husband. She wasn't going to throw that away just because the world had changed. She would tell him about the baby and they were going to have to decide together whether it was worth the risk. Or the price a child would have to pay to grow up in a world like this.

When she came downstairs into the kitchen Shane was ducking out the back door heading out into the quickly darkening night. In some ways she was relieved that she didn't have to stare him in the face, not after just getting herself together. And she was relieved that she didn't have to put up with the tension that always simmered between Shane and Daryl and now Fox too. More times than not when it came to what they were arguing about, whatever it was, she was inclined to side with Shane, but that didn't mean she wanted their disputes to keep escalating. She'd seen the bruises on Shane's face the day the Walkers had invaded the quarry. Daryl hadn't come up unscathed, but her former lover was most certainly the worse of the two. And Fox…Fox hadn't seemed all that thrilled to be breaking up the fight. She was a wildcard if ever such a thing existed and her presence never failed to make Lori nervous. Yes, she had risked her own safety to go into the woods to bring back medicine for her, but how much of that had been for her own motives? Rick seemed to be of the mind to let her stay with the group…and she still wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"Ok, we have to find ways to fortify the property so incase the Walkers do find us, we at least have a warning or a few minutes to bug out before they hem us in. There is already fencing around some of the borders, I think we should continue it all the way around, and re-enforce what's already there." Rick had a map of the property spread out on the table, nudging dishes of food out of the way so people could get a good look.

"That's gonna take a lot of labor." Dale commented.

Rick nodded. "It is, but we'll have more time now. We don't have to spend so much energy getting food and water. There's woods all around this area we can use for lumber."

"There's a whole bunch of tools y'all can use in the attic as well to help speed it along." Maggie offered.

"Good. I say we start with fencing everything that's not blocked off already and then making what is already there stiffer, and higher. We can scavenge barbed wire and metal fencing from other farms or make a run into the little town not far from here. It won't stop the Walkers entirely, but it will definitely slow them down."

"Gonna be a long job." Daryl muttered. It wasn't lost on anybody in the room the way he was sticking close to Fox these days. It was odd that such an aloof man that had barely spoken to the other members of camp had become so involved with, so attached to, such a stranger. Maybe it was that fact that they had in common that kept them close.

"It will, but we should be done before the cold really sets in." Rick said, rolling up the map and setting it aside before digging into the plate of food in front of him, at last relaxing a little with the other members of the group. The only one still truly tense was Andrea, who had barely even touched her plate, favoring refilling her wine glass several times over. Dale tried to encourage her to eat but she didn't say anything, refusing to meet anybody's eyes, looking like a Walker without wounds.

* * *

Shane crept through the darkness of the woods, holding the shotgun firmly in both hands, also assured by the pistol tucked into the waistband of his pants. Both were fully loaded and he was confident that if he came across anything in the trees he could take it on without much of a problem. What he'd come out here for was to inspect fresh tire tracks he'd seen on a stretch of mud by the road that he and Glenn had come across earlier while surveying the property. The kid didn't have the knowledge base to know that the tracks had been fresh but he did, and he knew someone else was prowling around this property. He had tried to tell Rick about it but Rick had insisted it came from one of their own vehicles and had dismissed the matter. He had tried to tell his friend he was being foolish- so desperate for a place of security and shelter that he'd overlook anything, even this, if he thought he had found it. He didn't want to be angry with Rick but what he couldn't ignore was that he was putting Lori and Carl in danger by not checking everything out thoroughly and making sure this place really was safe, which Shane had not so subtle or small doubts about.

He prowled ahead, going back to where he had seen the tracks earlier. The darkness was thick now but the wind was cool and the thunder of the evening storm was a long ways away. He looked ahead through the trees and swore he saw the glow of campfires a ways into the distance. Heart beating like a drum inside his ears he pressed on, determined to discover what this threat was, and eliminate it if necessary.

As he got closer he could see that it was indeed campfires being burned. He took cover in the trees, aware that he'd already crossed off the plantation property, but the newcomers were less than a quarter mile ahead and he kept going, needing to know how many there were and what they intended to do here. If there were just a few he could probably drive them away on his own, but if it was a large group that would pose a problem.

There was a convoy of all black SUVs encircling a small clearing in the trees, the vehicles facing out in preparation for a quick getaway if necessary. In their center was the new group, voices muffled slightly because of the distance. Shane crept closer still, trying to get as close as he dared, when he heard a shuffling behind him. He spun around, thinking it was a Walker that he had missed that had followed him, drawn by the firelight and the sound of human voices, but then he heard a voice speak. A voice he would have never dreamed to hear in this situation.

"Shane? Is that you?"


	19. Chapter 19

**_Alright ladies and gentlemen we are back! Bit of a long update this time but after so many wonderful reviews I just couldn't help myself and I wanted to give this to you guys. You have been so amazing to me, and I only hope I make your time and effort in reading and reviewing my work worth it. Enjoy!_**

**CreepyDaisy**: _Oh oh! Who is that? And what did Rick give to Fox! You're killing me! That's just plain evil, torturing people like that. Please update soon, I fear I became addicted to this story and I need my next fix soon so have a little compassion. Love you!_

I know, I can be so evil with my mysteriousness but all good things to those who wait. And I love you too! You and all my wonderful readers and reviewers =D

**ry123red**: _I wonder what Rick gave Fox to hold for safe keeping...maybe I missed it when I was reading? Anyways, another great chapter with sweet Fox/Daryl interaction. I can't wait to find out who Shane ran into at the end of this chapter! Thanks for posting new chapters pretty quickly!_

Nah you didn't miss it, I just made a reference to it in earlier chapters but it is still a mystery. Not to me of course which is slightly evil but it's all part of the fun ;) I had originally written this chapter to be much more of a fight between Fox and Daryl but I'm glad I changed it. And yes, I try to post as quick as I can. I'm running out of back up chapters to use when I can't write so hopefully I can get back on top of it quickly.

**Emerald Gaze**:_ Merle? I doubt it though, he wouldn't address shane like that ... maybe shane's wife then, he was married or had a girlfriend before the world ended and i cant think of anyone else who would know him this should get really interesting!_!_

Oh yes indeed it will be very interesting. All good things in time my friend ;)

**hayleyjune13**: _Oh goodness, who is it?! Update soon please? :)_

Aww I can't spoil it that easy! But I will update as quick as I can to ease some of the tenderhooks ;)

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _Whoa..plot twist. I really do love this so much. I can't wait for the next chapter and I like how you keep having cliffhanger endings because they make me sit on the edge of my chair until the next chapter. Ahaha._

I try my best to balance the emotional turbulence with Daryl and Fox and the rest of the group with healthy doses of suspense and action. There is a plot to all of this and we're right on the edge of finding it all out =)

**Emberka-2012**: _Rick has some questions about her behavior, but he trusts Fox. She also needs to learn to trust._

Lol, I think they all have some questions about her behavior. She's a tricky one, Fox, but he trusts her to do what's necessary when the time comes and at the end of the world, you can't ask for too much more than that. But yes, she needs to learn to trust them too. Daryl is working on that with her, and with himself too.

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Awesome! I love that you bring up the fact that Rick should be putting his faith in Daryl! That was on thing that I seriously love about the new season. Daryl is there for Rick. No matter what. I truly believe he would stick with Rick and his group no matter what even when it comes to Merle!_

Since I haven't seen the third season and have only been able to read summaries I've had to kind of guess what the interactions between the group are slowly becoming as they continue to hold together at the end of the world. I do think Daryl would be there for Rick until the bitter end, even if it was a choice between Rick and the group or Merle, I do think at this point Daryl would go with Rick and the others. But of course if that choice ever came I think it would still be a hard choice for him, even if Merle wasn't a great brother, when you've only got one person in your life, your whole life, you don't let go of that easily.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Loved it :) I love how you are developing Fox and Daryl's relationship :) It's funny that Rick trust Fox enough to tell her the cdc secret but is still suspicious of her. Update Soon!_

Rick trusts Fox with the CDC secret in part because she is such a stranger and for the moment he can count on her to do what's necessary to protect it- the other members of the group are more loyal to each other. He believes Fox is only really loyal to herself. Fox herself isn't quite sure where her loyalties lie, and very soon she'll have to find an answer to that question…

**HeartofBruce**: _OMFG with the cliffhanger! I love the beginnings of a relationship between Daryl and Fox. I am dying too see his reaction when she finally tells him her name. Shane needs to be taken care of, he seriously gets on my last nerve! Earlier in the story when Glenn was explaining to Daryl and Fox about the ditch behind the parking lot, you mentioned kudzoo. That is awesome! I was absolutely fascinated with kudzoo when I movies down to the south. It is crazy to see it cover an entire hillside and even buildings. Now I hate to be demanding, however I absolutely must press that you update soon. I am not sure how I will survive until then ;)_

Oh yes, Kudzu. That stuff is crazy! It will grow on anything that stands still. Wisteria, another plant very common in the south, is the same way. I grew up in the South my whole life so I'm very familiar with some of the plants down there. Oh yes, Fox's real name, such a mysterious point of contention for Daryl and the rest of the group too, but especially for Daryl. He's not used to playing games but Fox plays hardball so he doesn't have much choice. And yes, I try to update every two or three days, hopefully I can keep that up. Thanks so much for writing in!

**Peypeys13**: _Ahhhhhh great chapter. The intense stare down with Daryl and Fox was amazingly written. The part about his cobalt blue eyes meeting her emerald eyes made me squeal in excitement :3 heheh. The way you describe the music expressing Fox's emotions is genius! but... Shane-_- I'm so scared who he found, maybe a sheriff buddy or maybe Merle but it can't be good. I feel like Andrea will also cause so problems. Your writing is great! It always leaves me wanting more, thinking, and guessing. Keep up the great work! :3_

The great thing about Fox and Daryl is that they're both stubborn and strong willed and so when it comes to a fight neither one really wants to yield. When I was writing this chapter I went back and watched 'Chupacabra' and I just loved how blue Daryl's eyes were in the close-up shots when he was talking with Merle and I had to throw that in there. I write as if I'm watching it unfold on a TV screen, so I try and get those little details in as much as possible. And yes, the music- the only love that could tie with how much I love to write. It always works its way into my writing somewhere, somehow. Shane, oh that Shane…you'll just have to wait and see what I have in store for him ;) but as far as Andrea is concerned, she's another challenge to write because she's tough and strong but she's also vulnerable to shattering. I guess they all are in a way but she seems to be all over the map emotionally as far as I can tell. Now granted, I haven't seen Season 3, so all I have is 1 and 2 to go off of. I'm trying to do everyone justice though, because this is such a great show and I want to stay as true to the character development as possible.

** Jerrie Higarashi**: _Why must you be so damn excellent on these cliffhangers? I hate you! I really wanna know who in the hell it was, talking to Shane! I really liked how Daryl and Fox kissed yet again, But I really didn't agree with Fox taking most of the control...but that's just me, over all, I really enjoyed this chapter and it was written quite well. Please update soon :)_

Lol, well thank you much for all of your wonderful reviews on each and every single chapter no less! That really was so kind of you, I can't believe you went back and re-read the whole thing! Lol yes, trust me, Daryl doesn't agree with Fox taking most of the control either, but he's working himself up for it, don't you worry. Fox is just greedy and doesn't like to wait around XD.

* * *

The next two weeks passed relatively without incident. Daryl and Fox worked closely together almost every day either hunting or tracking Walkers that were coming onto the property from the distance and disposing of them. There were times that they talked, Daryl could actually be conversational when he felt like it, but just as often they were content not to speak. She had not advanced on him physically since the second night on the plantation and though they shared a bed, they kept distance between them. But every morning she woke up smelling like him and when he finally collapsed onto the mattress at night, he could smell her in the sheets and an animalistic part of him growled with approval. Their tumultuous dance around each other had her straining at the bit, and more and more it was getting harder to push her away. A part of him was disgusted that she could cow him into nervousness, that he wasn't man enough to just take her for everything she was worth until he had nothing left to give- but there was still the nervous, unpracticed boy who had no idea what he was doing and wasn't about to screw it up. To save on gasoline in the generator they didn't use the house's air conditioning at night and so even by the time they went to bed it was still steaming hot, and so he'd shrug his shirt off before going to bed. When he did so, occasionally she'd let her fingers trace his scars. At first the touches used to make him flinch and shiver nervously but the more she did it, the less he shook. Sometimes he even dared to run his fingers through her hair and she'd look at him with pleading green eyes and although his ego was stroked that she wanted him, it wasn't enough to drive him further. He had a feeling it was only a matter of time before she dragged him off the cliff…but for now she still had a shred of patience left.

The daylight hours with her had become something he looked forward to. She understood things that the other members of camp didn't. The way the air changed when they would hunt, the creeping shadows of the night that were more alive than the undead monsters waiting for them in their depths, the lurking animal instinct that was slowly but surely winding them all up as they waited with baited breath for the other shoe to drop. He could feel the tension in the air, and she could too, he saw it in her face day by day. The way she would look up at the smallest sounds, the way she would almost flinch at the slightest twitch of movement out of the corner of her eye, how she would always keep a close watch on the distance, made blurry and hazy by the heat waves bouncing off the asphalt. Yet she showed no fear, no desire to turn tail and run. If anything she seemed to look forward to when they would prowl the woods together, searching for Walkers to take down. There was a certain ruthless yet beautiful quality to the way she would hunt. Her game tracking skills weren't up to much still, but she was taking notes with her eyes whenever he'd settle into tracking a piece of prey.

When they would return to the room they shared at night she would usually play on the guitar for a while, sometimes so long that it lulled him to sleep and he'd wake next to her not knowing exactly how she'd gotten there without waking him up. Other times she would play for the whole group and little Beth would sing for them. It was hard for Daryl to imagine that someone so soft had managed to survive in such a harsh world for so long. Then again, she did have her big sister looking out for her. Maggie was no marshmallow. If she didn't like the way something was being handled, she put her foot down and even Rick would back down from her, mostly out of fear that she could throw them out. She had a pretty good shot with a double barrel, especially at close range.

Rick and Fox seemed to have settled most of their differences. If he gave an order, she would follow, although sometimes Daryl could hear her bickering and cursing under her breath. She hated running errands back and forth from the house to the edge of the property where most of the men were working on fortifying the fences. And then Daryl would remind her she could be in the house with the other women doing dishes or washing clothes and she'd shoot him a smirk and roll her shoulders in a way that said he was right without words. He was beginning to understand most of her body language, and as it would turn out she spoke a lot more with her mannerisms than she did with words. She still played mind-games without a doubt, and it still drove him nuts, but slowly but surely he was understanding her, learning who she was.

And in turn she was learning him. At first he had been resistant to the way she would work her mental fingers into him and pry him open, but after a while he began to understand she would only go as far as he was willing to let her, and then on some unspoken but understood signal she would back off. And so they wove a dance together with words and glances out of the corner of their eyes, strengthening the bond they shared. He cared for her in a way he couldn't name because he'd never felt like this about anybody else. He wasn't going to call it love…what the hell was that anyway? If it was what Lori and Rick had, he didn't want much part of it. But it was a bond, an attachment, and it was growing daily. Even more than when they had first met he always felt better when he could lay eyes on her, know where she was. He found himself worrying for her whenever she would go off on her own, but she was slowly teaching him not to stress too much when it came to her safety. Despite the closeness growing between them, she was still guarded, and all to often she sought solitude, which suited him fine, because he needed his alone time too. A chance to unplug and recharge from dealing with the rest of the group. They weren't doing anything against him, he'd just always been one of those people that needed time to unwind and collect himself together again.

The internal structure of the camp seemed to be changing as well. He and Fox weren't the only two that were bonding. Glenn and Maggie seemed to have developed an intimacy as well, and more than once Daryl and Fox both had seen them holding hands or even necking in dark corners of the house when they thought no one was watching. Fox found it amusing and even endearing. Daryl couldn't help but roll his eyes. Glenn, for all of his skittishness, seemed to have a hard-on for hardheaded, hard-hitting women. And while their relationship seemed to be a positive one, there was always something to tip the scale back in depression's favor.

Andrea had become a withdrawn shell of herself. She rarely spoke to anyone and when she did it was clipped and almost always frustrated or even sad. The only one she would speak to on any kind of regular basis was with Dale and even then that was strained at best. The old man was doing his best to try and coax her out of her depression but it was hit or miss. She wouldn't eat with them unless Rick was discussing the next day's agenda, and she never strayed far from her pistol. Daryl sometimes wondered if maybe she wouldn't be better off if she joined her sister. Not out of cruelty or contempt, but purely because she was suffering so much and if he was completely honest, draining resources that could be used to help the other, functioning members of the group. He dared to voice this idea to Fox on one of their usual tracking outings to patrol for more Walkers at dawn. The air was still cool and was laced with the tang of early morning moisture and stillness, a few tendrils of fog rolling through in the wooded areas.

"You think she'd be better off dead?" she questioned as they picked their way through the leaf litter, keeping their eyes peeled for movement or tracks.

"Maybe. If that's what she wants." Daryl said quietly. When Fox stopped and stared at him he felt a tightening in his chest. "I ain't being cruel. It's like watching some piece of game bleeding out from a bad shot in the chest."

Fox kept walking and shook her head. "I don't think so. I think she's trying to figure out where she fits into the world without Amy. When Amy was alive, Andrea existed to take care of her. Now that Amy's gone, she doesn't have much left going for her."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "She could learn if she put effort into it. Shane's been taking the others out to learn to shoot, she could go with them. But she doesn't. Just sits around the house doing nothing. Waste of freaking oxygen."

Fox shook her head at him again and caught his eye, and it was very obvious what her message was. That she didn't believe he'd meant what he'd said. And it was true. He didn't really mean it…but damn…how much could one person sit around and wallow in something they couldn't change?

"She'll come around. She just has to decide that she wants it. She hasn't made up her mind yet. I think when we finish fortifying the property and she sees we're safe here, she'll see its worth it."

Daryl didn't reply. He was mulling over something else in his mind that had been bugging him for a while. By now it wasn't really a secret that Lori was pregnant. Everyone could hear her throwing up most mornings, the way Rick leapt to her aid at the drop of a hat, the way Shane crowded her whenever possible. When he'd told Fox that he'd known (she had heard it from Glenn about a week ago, that kid couldn't keep a secret to save his life), she'd been surprised. He didn't take it personally. Most people didn't give him due credit when it came to figuring things out. He didn't mind that- it just made people underestimate him, and therefore an easier target if necessary.

"You think Rick will finally grow a pair and tell Shane to back off?" Fox asked him as they swung west to cover the back side of the property. This was the last leg of their six mile patrol. Glenn and Maggie had the other six miles. They did the patrol twice a day, once at sunup and once at sundown, rotating the group members every day so everyone pitched in on building the fence as well as patrolling.

"If he really wants that baby to be his he will. Not that it really matters though." He muttered. He inhaled deeply again, grateful for the coolness of the air while it lasted. It wouldn't be much longer before the sun began to beat down on them again. They'd have a little break when they got back to the house and then it'd be out to the boundary again to pitch in with the fence building.

"What do you mean?" Fox asked as they picked their way over snarls of thorns and muddy creaks on their way back towards the house.

"That baby's Shane's, no matter what Lori says. She's too far along for it to be Rick's, or ain't far enough along, depending on how you slice it." He took a swig out of his canteen and paused for a minute, letting his bow rest on the ground next to him before passing the canteen to Fox who accepted the offer gratefully.

"How long were Shane and Lori together before Rick got back?" she questioned.

He thought back to when hell had first broken loose and they'd all taken cover at the quarry. Spring had just started turning into summer then, and it would be fall in about a month.

"Maybe a month? Who knows if they were doing each other behind Rick's back beforehand though. They tried to hide it but Shane's such a shitty actor. Come swaggering back into camp twenty minutes after Lori goes off into the woods on her own. Give me a break. Only someone who had their eyes glued shut couldn't figure it out. Hell even Merle knew."

Fox nodded in acknowledgement. "Well it doesn't matter. Lori chose Rick when he came back. That baby is his." Her voice was definitive.

Daryl shook his head. "Ain't no denying blood. Blood runs thicker than water. Always has, always will." That was the only thing he'd ever been sure of growing up, and it hadn't changed now.

"That's not true." She answered quietly, looking at him, the curtain of her hair framing her face. The blood red color had slowly started fading. Not so much in the sunlight, but definitely in the shade he could see it starting to turn pink in some places, especially on the ends. Her dark brown roots were also starting to become more noticeable as well. He'd see her fussing with her hair in the evenings sometimes, usually just after she got out of the shower, sighing when more of the dye rubbed off. He didn't understand why it was so important to her, and he didn't bother to ask. He figured it was just one of those girl things.

"You're trying to tell me you'd side with someone else over your sister? Your mother?" he questioned, sharper than he meant to.

She rolled her shoulders again, pulling a knife out of one of her holsters and twirling it in her fingers. "I'm saying you're not bound by blood to be someone or something. I'm surprised you don't think the same way."

Now he was feeling like she was playing another head game with him, but he would play along, a little curious as to where this was going. "Why the hell would I? All my life, Merle was the only one who ever looked out for me. My kin. Nobody else. Blood trumps everything."

"You're wrong." She answered him, looking deep into him with her green eyes that made his heart do weird little jumps in his chest when she caught him off guard, like right now. "You're wrong, and you have the scars to prove it."

"Be straight." It was a phrase he often said when they talked like this, it had become almost code to them, code to stop talking in riddles. He picked up his crossbow and tilted his head for her to follow him. She did so, but a small smile was toying with her lips. She teethed the ring in her lip for a second before answering.

"There's only one reason why your dad and your brother treated you the way they did." She murmured, staring now into the distance and not at him, at some point only she could see. She did that a lot when they had these conversations. In the beginning it used to bother him, like maybe she wasn't being honest with him, but now he understood that it was about her, and how sometimes if he was staring straight at her she'd more likely to be silent. Or at least not say everything at once.

"Yeah. To make a man out of me. Nothing else." He said with a shrug.

She shook her head at him and when she spoke her voice was firm but not forceful. "No. They treated you the way they did because they couldn't force you to be like them. That's the only reason." Now she did turn to look at him and he actually stopped walking to stare straight back at her.

"The hell you get that from?" he questioned. If she was trying some head shrinking thing it wasn't going to work. He wasn't crazy. Yeah, his dad hadn't been a saint, and Merle was no angel either, but he was fine. His childhood had served him well. He could take care of himself, both then, and especially now after the world had ended.

"Why would they have hit you so hard if it wasn't out of frustration that you weren't like them? You're different than they are, Daryl. No denying it. You're different and they couldn't force you to change. To be like them." She smiled a little, her green eyes glittering again in the golden sunlight filtering through the trees.

"So I don't worry about the baby and who the father is. That baby will be Rick's child, not Shane's. I see the way Rick looks after Carl, after the rest of us. The baby might not be his flesh and blood technically, but Rick will take that secret to the grave to keep it from the child. So will Lori. So will the rest of us. And Shane has no proof that the baby is his. As long as Rick is in charge of raising the child, he or she will turn out like him. Not Shane."

"You're awful sure of yourself for having no proof." He muttered as he slung his bow across his chest again.

"I have proof." She answered him with a bigger smile, and unlike many of her expressions, this was warm and genuine. It was an expression he had a feeling she didn't show to many people, and there was a small part of him that was pleased that he got to be one of the few that saw it.

"Living proof." She blinked her emerald eyes at him and he saw whispers of something she must have been hiding since the second night on the plantation. Some spark of desire and wanting and need. It was there only for a moment before she seemed to settle back down and followed him as they made their way back up to the house. By the time they'd gotten there everyone else was back from their daily chores as well, all except for one person.

"Where's Shane?" she asked as they started pulling out dishes for lunch.

"He went to check the south side of the property." Rick said as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"Why we were just down there, there was nothing weird." Glenn answered as he poured himself and Maggie a glass of water from the pitcher.

"I'd say it's a good thing. The more eyes we have on the borders the better." T-dog commented while he worked the stove.

Fox glanced at Daryl and the two of them had a silent understanding. Shane had been sneaking off on his own frequently especially over the past week and while they were grateful not to have to be in his presence, it was still odd. Fox had even gone so far as to try and say something to Rick but the man had brushed it off, saying Shane needed something to do to keep him busy and he wasn't hurting anybody while he was out there. Fox had shrugged her shoulders and let it go but Daryl was less pacified, but chose not to intervene. If Shane went and got himself killed…well…he wasn't exactly going to be crying a river.

A glance around the room found his eyes locked with Dale. The old man seemed unsettled by Shane's recent absences as well and for the moment he had yet to say anything but Daryl had the feeling that was going to last for long. And sure enough, when he and Fox broke from lunch to start bringing the tools back out to the fence line, he caught up with them.

"Have you talked to Rick about Shane going off by himself so much?" he asked as he helped lift one of the saws and walked with them down the dirt track between the oak trees, the Spanish moss swaying in the hot breeze that rolled through.

"Yeah. He thinks its nothing." Fox replied, shaking her hair out of her face.

"And you? What do you think?" Dale asked, more towards Daryl than Fox.

"I think Shane can do whatever the hell he wants, so long as he stays out of my face."

Dale's heavy brows furrowed. "I'm starting to wonder if maybe there's another group of people around here. Other survivors. Maybe he's thinking about joining them."

Fox's lips twitched and she glanced at Daryl for a moment before looking fully at Dale. "What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Well the first day here Daryl and T-dog say they thought they saw a car, and me and Andrea have seen tire tracks on the patrols. Granted they were old, and our vehicles might have made them, but we can't know for sure. I think there is something out there, and Shane's out looking for it too, the question is for what reason."

"Rick thinks its nothing. If there is something out there, we can handle it." Daryl muttered, brushing aside the man's concern. At least on the surface, but within he felt off about it too. A quick glance at Fox told him she felt the same, but at the moment, there was nothing they could do about it. Shane wasn't their problem. They focused on the task at hand and marched up to the edge of the property, ready for another afternoon of hard labor. Shane actually showed up to help them out as they used their already cut pieces of lumber to start filling in some of the gaps in the fence, hammers and nails pinging across the warm Georgia air while shovels scraped to dig holes for the new posts. In the heat it was back breaking work, and Daryl didn't exactly like working side by side with Shane, but under Rick's watchful gaze he knew better than to argue. Fox stayed as far away from Shane as humanely possible, but couldn't resist shooting him death glares whenever their eyes were forced to meet. It was about as much as Daryl could have hoped from her, and to be honest, if it were up to him, he wouldn't have a problem with turning her loose on Shane and letting her cut him six ways to sundown.

They worked until the thunder that rumbled over their heads warned them to go back inside before they ruined their tools. They carted everything back to the farm house and they were all a bit relieved to see dinner on the table. Rick came up and kissed Lori on the cheek gently before ruffling Carl's hair as his son ducked around his father's legs before joining Sophia. Beth watched over them with motherly devotion while Carol helped to serve dinner. Without the flood of alcohol from the first night mealtimes were not as loud or as jubilant, but they were still warm and the group pulled in close metaphorically speaking. He and Fox bristled just a little bit at being pulled in, but they were getting too tired to fight it, especially him. Fox seemed to have more of a will to remain apart from them, but even she smiled more these days, actually having conversations with people besides him. But she still stuck close to him, never going far from his side while under the group's watch.

The storm down poured all throughout dinner, but by the time they were washing dishes it had eased off into gentle patters of rain on the roof, water droplets trickling along the window panes. The group was lounged around the living room, Sophia, Carl, Beth, and Lori playing a board game while Rick looked on appreciatively. T-dog was perusing a book from one of the shelves while Maggie was educating Dale and Glenn on some of the knick knacks behind the cabinet's glass doors. Fox wandered away and on an unspoken instinct he followed. He had a feeling she'd want to be alone tonight, and by alone that meant it was just him in her company.

He followed her up to their room and by the time he was there she sitting on the window seat staring out at the front lawn of the plantation, her eyes deep and yet sightless at the same time, as if seeing something that wasn't actually there. Normally she would have been playing the guitar but she had slipped it into the RV the night before after the group had broken from dinner. When he'd asked her why she had said that she didn't want to risk having to bug out without it, yet another sign to him that she really felt uneasy here.

"You ok?" he asked finally after her a long moment of silence.

She sighed and stared out the window, shifting her weight back and forth, her booted feet scraping against the floor lightly before turning back to face him.

"Fine." She answered.

He glanced at her out of the side of his eye and her lips twitched thinly. He knew her better than that, and so he held her gaze until she continued.

"Something's off. I know it is. I feel it, you feel it, Dale feels it...it's only a matter of time before shit hits the fan."

Social instinct was to try and soothe her concerns and remind her that they hadn't seen but a few Walkers here and there over the past two weeks and that everything was fine. But she was right- he could feel that something was about to happen. He didn't know how or why or what it would be, but he could still feel it.

"We'll be ready for it." He said quietly. He got up from the window seat and went to the bed they'd been sharing and picked up the pistol that he'd been keeping on the nightstand, a silver nine millimeter, in addition to his thirty eight which was tucked into the waistband of his pants. He took the nine millimeter and carried it back to the window seat, watching as Fox shrank back slightly.

"Take it. If something happens…you may need it." He told her. He held it out to her, but he might as well have been holding a poisonous snake for the way she cringed away from him.

"I can handle myself." She insisted.

He nodded and actually smiled a little. "I know you can. I've seen you. But if you're pinned down and you're out of knives…this can come in handy." He held it out to her again.

"For you. Not for me." She said as she reached and took the gun from him. She got up from the seat and stared out the window, holding the weapon loosely in one hand while he followed her gaze outside. The rain had stopped and now the plantation was awash with silver droplets as the clouds began to break and moonlight began to filter down, causing the shadows to writhe against each other while the wind blew the Spanish moss back and forth, the oak trees shivering softly.

A shadow began to move faster than the others, streaking up the path that led to the plantation house like a jack rabbit dodging a coyote. It was moving too fast to be a Walker so whoever it was, they meant business. Daryl and Fox spun from the window and hurriedly went downstairs, the heaviness of their step quickly noted by the others.

"What is it?" Rick asked, shifting in his chair while Sophia and Carl stopped their game to watch what was happening.

"Someone's coming." Daryl warned. Rick leapt up to his feet, loosening the holster on his gun while Lori beckoned Carl to come close to her. Daryl and Fox went after Rick as he jogged to the porch, Maggie and Glenn following close behind.

The figure they'd seen running to the house was close enough now that by the time they'd made it down the steps of the porch they could see who it was. Shane, out of breath, sweat rolling down his skin, almost shaking from how far he must have run at full speed.

"Walkers! They're coming, massive herd, they're right on me, we have to go!"

Rick snapped into leadership mode after just a split second surprise. He ran back in the house, Daryl and Fox moving right along side him, Shane bringing up the rear. They raced back inside, startling everyone and immediately sparking panic when the rest of the group saw the look on their faces.

"Move, get your stuff, we're pulling out!" Rick ordered, snatching Lori and Carl from their seats and getting them in motion while Glenn and Maggie sprinted into the kitchen to start getting what supplies they could.

"Where? How close?" Carol asked in breathless panic as she clutched Sophia.

"Right outside!" T-dog yelled from the porch. "They'll overrun us!"

"Daryl, Fox, Shane, Glenn, by us time, hold the door!" Rick ordered. He didn't wait to see if he would be obeyed, he just ran towards the back to help gather the supplies they absolutely had to have. The vehicles were scattered all around the edges of the house in order that they would have a way to get out if one side was blocked off, but it also hindered getting supplies in efficiently.

Fox didn't hesitate. She ran with Daryl and the others to the front porch and saw with a twisting sensation in her gut how many of the enemy they were facing. Over two hundred Walkers all headed straight for them, arms outstretched, faces masks of blood, eyes clogged with the rot of death as their hiss growls filled the air with menacing intent.

"Weapons hot!" Shane called as he pulled out his shotgun. Glenn whipped his around too, and Fox unsheathed her kukri knives, one in each hand, her eyes ablaze.

They opened fired on the mob, Fox creating a little corner for herself as the Walkers tried to scramble onto the porch. She sliced off heads, spattering blood everywhere as she jumped back and forth to get out of the reach of their clawing hands. Daryl had his bow around his back, only intending to use it as a last resort. His pistol kicked in his hands, the satisfying snap of the recoil hitting his wrist repeatedly as he picked off head after head.

"Rick, we gotta go!" Shane snarled as they were forced inch by inch to step back while the Walkers crammed onto the porch entrance. Eventually they spilled back into the open main hall, but Fox was determined not to lose more ground if she could help it. She plunged forward, slashing off two heads at once but Daryl grabbed her by the shoulder and slung her back so hard she fell and cracked her head on the ground- to avoid having a chunk taken out of her leg by a Walker that was being trampled by its fellows on the ground. She got back up and gave an appreciative nod to Daryl, the rush of battle blazing in her eyes as the group struggled to keep the monsters back. She threw herself into the fray again and sliced off the hand of a Walker that was about to claw Glenn before whacking off its head. She dodged the grip of an another and plunged her blade into its abdomen to hold it back while she ducked and Daryl shot it through the skull. She jerked her knife free and saw with dismay that at least thirty geeks had forced their way into the main hall of the house.

"Go, go, go! Out the back, run!" It was T-dog now, holding one of the last bags of supplies, beckoning them to follow. They all turned tail and ran as the Walkers busted through their defenses, spilling into the house not only from the front door but the windows too.

They ran through the house, moving as fast as they could in the darkness while Walkers spit and snarled and hissed, pursuing them relentlessly. Feet scrambled against the slick wooden floors until boots bit traction and propelled them all forward to the back door. In their haste they bottle necked at the door, right as they were blocked by another mob coming at them from the back.

"Die!" Fox shouted as she stabbed one of the Walkers in their path in the skull, jerking the blade out with a hard pull, streaking blood along the wall just as a terrible scream reverberated around their ears. Daryl looked and saw with horror that T-dog's arm, which had been bracing him against a wall as he'd skidded to a halt to avoid throwing himself straight into the arms of the deadly mob, had been seized and bitten into by the gnashing jaws of a Walker. Daryl raised his gun and shot the undead bastard straight between the eyes as Fox killed the last one in their way, Shane and Glenn covering their backs. Their escape was made not a moment too soon as more Walkers poured in from the side door close to their flank.

They ran into the yard, surrounded by scattered members of the herd. Fox ran towards each one, creating a small pack that was steadily following her, but she slayed new ones in her way deftly, her knives glistening with Walker blood and moonlight. Daryl's gun popped off shots, not loud enough to drown out the pounding of his own heartbeat as he kicked another Walker away, ducking to avoid yet another one's bite, ramming his shoulder into its chest to throw it back while he reared up to his full height and shot the son of a bitch in the face. They had almost cleared their path back to the vehicles when they saw another scene of this never-ending nightmare unfold.

Beth had somehow managed to become trapped, one of the sidewalls of the house against her back as a horde advanced on her. She had a gun in her hands and was shooting as best she could but the bullets kept missing the heads and either hitting the shoulders or going wide completely, slowing nothing down.

"She's done for!" Shane yelled over the roar of gunfire as the others saw what was happening. "We have to go, now!" Beth's direction would have put them dangerously close to another mob while going the other way around the house was clear and they'd have a chance for the vehicles.

"I'll get her, go the other way, now!" Fox panted. She didn't wait for a rebuttal and Daryl's heart leapt between his teeth as he watched Fox sprint like a bat out of hell towards Beth, using her knives when necessary to clear a path. She seemed so focus on the task at hand that she didn't see out of the top of her vision that Beth had tried to fling herself out of the way of the oncoming pack of Walkers, straight into Fox's chest, sending them down into a tumbling mess of limbs and hair. Daryl didn't wait. He pulled his spare clip out of his pocket, loaded the gun, and shot five clean bullets straight into the heads of the Walkers who were after the two girls as they struggled to get their feet under them. A massive boom cracked not far away from his ear, throwing him off balance and when he spun he saw Glenn clutching his shotgun, having fired a round through a Walker's skull that had been behind Daryl's back, ready to rip his head off by the nape of the neck. He nodded once to the kid in appreciation before he ran forward to help Fox and Beth.

They were on their feet by the time he got there, but Beth could barely stand. She was staggering and limping horribly and Daryl didn't take long to find out way. Her foot had nearly been severed from the ankle by a Walker's gnashing jaws. Fox spun wide and slashed with her knives again, creating a bubble of protection while Daryl reached and grabbed Beth's arm and flung it over his shoulder to help her move faster while he followed Fox, doubling back around the house as Shane, Glenn, and T-dog helped to keep their way clear. But once they were around the house they saw a bloody field of carnage in their wake. What remained of the herd was blocking their access to the vehicles and by now Rick and some of the others were standing on the roof of their cars, shooting well aimed bullets to try and clear a path, but it wasn't going to last much longer.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" T-dog panted, his voice weak with pain but eyes blazing with determination. He shot all but the last bullet in his gun and Fox unsheathed one of her mid sized daggers and thrust it into his palm before nodding once to the man. Daryl's heart twitched uncomfortably at leaving the man like that but they were never going to get out otherwise, not with him being unable to shoot from holding Beth like he was.

The survivors unfolded into a wide loop, going around the mob headed straight for T-dog whose fresh blood scent on the air drove them wild with crazed need. They only had to pick off a few side members before the path to the vehicles was clear. Daryl ran as fast as Beth's leg permitted her to go. He had just laid her on the floor of the RV, his back covered by Fox, when they heard a single, powerful gunshot. They all knew what that meant, but they couldn't waste time in looking back. He and Fox ran from the RV towards his bike where it was parked just ten feet away. Daryl used an arrow from his quiver in his bare hands, thrusting it into the eye socket of another Walker that blocked his access to the bike while Fox flung a blade, the metal of the knife careening into the temple of the second monster's head, dropping it like a ton of bricks. Daryl threw himself onto the bike and kicked the engine to life, the machine snarling like a living thing. Fox bent down and jerked the knife free from her latest kill and then clambered onto the bike, squeezing Daryl's waist as he gunned the engine, tearing off after the direction the rest of the convoy had taken, weaving in and out of the rest of the mob that had spilled onto the plantation's lawn.

They caught up with the convoy about half a mile up the road but the other vehicles didn't stop for at least another two miles until they found themselves situated on a lonely expanse of blacktop, fields surrounding them on all sides. It wasn't lost on Daryl this was the same stretch of road where he thought he'd seen the car go around the bend two weeks ago.

"Is everybody ok?" Rick panted heavily as he climbed out of the SUV along with everyone else, checking in, shaking and spattered with the blood of the dead.

"We're ok." Andrea panted as she leaned up against the RV, Dale right next to her, his shoulders trembling a bit but his eyes were relieved.

"T-dog went down." Glenn wheezed, clutching Maggie's hand tightly even as the shotgun dangled loose at his side in the other, the safety still not switched back on. "He…he helped us get out of there."

Rick's eyes grew amazingly grieved and yet stone hard at the same time. Shane was standing next to him, almost shaking his head, his hands on his hips, still trying to catch his breath. Daryl watched as the news of what had happened really sank into everyone and their eyes grow heavy, shoulders slumping forward even as they shook with adrenaline and fear.

"Is everyone else accounted for?" Rick asked, his voice stretched thin and taught with stress.

"Beth." Daryl dared to say, much to Maggie's ferocious look as she suddenly let go of Glenn.

"Where is my sister?" She demanded, all but snarling as she stalked straight towards the hunter.

"She's in the RV!" Fox intervened, carefully positioning herself between Maggie and Daryl. The brunette whirled on her heel and ran to the RV and the rest of the group followed, many more slowly, pulling in close with their loved ones. Carol had Sophia in her arms while Carl stuck close to his mother's legs even as Rick turned to hug them both. Daryl followed Fox to the RV and felt his heart twist when he heard Maggie's anguished scream. He looked over the girl's shoulder and even in the darkness could see the mangled mess of chewed flesh and blood that Beth's ankle and foot had become. The Walker's teeth had literally torn the bone into jagged pieces, trying to take the foot off the ankle. The girl's face was wracked with severe pain, tears streaming down her cheeks as her tangled blond hair fell everywhere as she tried to sit up. Maggie helped her, pulling her into her chest after stretching out her wounded leg, making sure not to look at the wound while she held her sister tight.

Eventually Rick and Shane came and inspected Beth's leg as well, although neither took very long. It was clear what had happened, and even clearer what the outcome would be.

"Is there any chance?" Maggie managed to ask through her sobs, tears still streaking down her face in hot, fast rivers.

"We could try to amputate her foot to stop the spread of the infection." Rick said. He was already taking off his belt to make a tourniquet when Beth managed to sit up and push his hands away.

"No…don't. I don't want to live like that. I can't do this anymore, just go!" she pleaded, her blue eyes filled with tears. "Go!" she yelled, the most assertion in her voice Daryl had ever heard since he'd known her.

Rick retreated along with Shane. Daryl pulled back as well but he didn't go far when he saw that Fox lingered behind. Maggie looked at her with venom in her eyes to warn her away, but only for a moment as Beth sat up and gratefully accepted Fox's hand.

"I'm sorry." The red-head whispered, her rasped voice choked with actual tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You came back for me." She whispered. Her voice was tight with pain and it was written all over her face even as Fox leaned forward and threaded her fingers through the girl's hair as she gently kissed her forehead. When she let go she met Maggie's eyes again and understood the message very clearly. But before Fox retreated she pulled her bag off her shoulders and dug through the bags of medicine she still had, searching for something in the darkness. When she found it she popped the cap on one of the bottles and tipped two pills in her hand and then getting a glass of water to give to Beth.  
"These are pain killers, strong stuff. It will help." She murmured. Beth took them from her, swallowing gratefully before leaning back against her sister. Fox left her bag where it was on the floor of the RV before slinking outside, trying to stop her hands from shaking.

"What do we now?" Glenn asked very softly to the air that had taken a sudden dip in temperature. Rick was standing nearby, his head down, hands actually shaking as he tried to keep it together.

"We wait. We bury Beth when the time comes, and then we move. I don't know how or why that herd found us, but if there's one, there is always more, we can't risk them meeting up again. And now that there is blood all over the plantation, they will be drawn to the smell."

"Where?" Carol asked worriedly. "Where are we going to go they can't find us? That they can't get to us?"

"We'll figure that out." Shane said softly, for once trying to be a help instead of a pain in the ass. Rick was wandering away, hands on his hips, pacing restlessly over the blacktop as the others crowded around each other. Daryl glanced at Fox for a moment, asking her to wait and she blinked an affirmative to him. The hunter approached the former sheriff cautiously but made sure his steps were loud enough so he didn't startle the man's already hairpin trigger nerves.

"Carol has a point. We have to figure out where to go. Georgia is overrun. I don't know if we can even stay in state anymore." He said softly, catching Rick's eye.

The man stared straight back at him, so much stress pulled over every inch of his skin it looked like he was about to shatter into millions of jagged pieces. He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, trying to get himself back together before answering, but Daryl could see he was still shaking.

"Where then? Where can we go?" he asked. There was pain, anger, vengeful hate lacing every syllable, but also desperation and maybe even fear. Daryl understood that right now in this moment Rick wasn't the same man he had been before. He was soaked with the sweat, fear, and blood of battle and he wasn't nearly as rational as he would have been otherwise. Daryl approached his suggestion with caution.

"North. I know winter is going to hit soon but the cold will slow them sons of bitches down. Snow will help hide our scent. Up in places like Appalachia and the Catskills, its isolated from cities and towns. We could find a valley and stay there. It'll take new clothes and new supplies, but if we stay in this area much longer, we'll bleed it dry of resources or get killed. The South is a sprawl, there's little towns full of Walkers everywhere just waiting to find us. Up North its different."

Rick stared straight at him, almost as if he didn't even know who he was. His eyes came back to recognition after a minute, focusing in on what Daryl had said, chewing it over carefully.

"I'll ask the others. But I don't see much other choice. You're right. It's built out around here, not up. Anywhere we go will be so close to another town a herd could find us again."

Daryl nodded. He was glad he could be of some help besides just his aim with a gun and a crossbow, but he didn't have to say it, and he could feel the silent gratitude from Rick as they both turned around and went back to the others. Fox's eyes lit up when Daryl came back to her, but after a moment they grew downcast again. She could tell he wanted to say something but he held his tongue after he saw how heartbroken she seemed to be. He'd never been so good in these situations.

"It's never enough." She whispered. "I couldn't save them, I couldn't even save her…"

Daryl shook his head. It wasn't his style to do the reaching out but it was blindingly obvious how badly she was hurting. He reached his hand forward and took hers, silencing the slight tremors as his fingers curled around hers, locking them together.

"You tried." He whispered softly. He could feel that other eyes were watching them, and Fox could feel it too because her own hardened slightly, however she didn't let it stop her. Her hand squeezed his tight and she gave just one nod before turning her eyes up to the sky. Only a few of the stars were visible tonight thanks to the clouds that still lingered, casting the dark sky with a hazy shade of washed out red.

"Fox?"

The woman turned to see Glenn standing at her shoulder, anxiously glancing between her and Daryl for a moment before finding Fox's gaze again. She looked him over, obviously wondering what he wanted but they didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Beth was asking for you." He said. Daryl could hear the exhaustion cutting through every word, but even deeper than that were rattled bones and a fluttering heartbeat as anxious as a mouse's.

Fox nodded and gently let go of Daryl's hand before going back to the RV. Glenn remained where he was several feet away from Daryl although he kept most of his weight on his heels as though he thought he might have to spring back from the man at any moment.

"Your aim is getting better." Daryl acknowledged, tilting his head slightly at the Asian's shotgun. It wasn't quite a thank you for saving his life at the house, but it was as close as Glenn was liable to ever get, and it made him smile nervously a little.  
"Thanks. I…uh…I wanted to tell you that I…um, I don't have anything going on with Fox." He stammered through his words which just made Daryl roll his eyes.

"Breathe easy kid. I ain't gonna hurt ya." He said although it was a bit of a contradictory statement as at the same time he took one of his arrows and reloaded his bow just in case. It was only when he was done and the bow was pointed safely at the ground did Glenn find his words again.

"I just didn't want you to think that what you saw was something serious. She just…"

"I know what she did. Calm down. I ain't holding all of that against you." After what he'd felt with Fox the first night at the plantation, and all of their moments after, he understood how a man could just lose his mind when trapped beneath her, drunk or not. She was a hunter, not just a scavenger. If she wanted something, she was going to take it no matter what; at least that's how she'd been before. In a strange way he felt like maybe he had tamed her just a little in the past two weeks… somehow managed to make her see that she couldn't just steal whatever she wanted, even if she did need it. Sometimes she had to unbend her pride and ask. It didn't always happen, but it was getting better.

Glenn let out a long sigh of relief. "Good. And could you please not say anything to Maggie?"

"Do I look like a front page tabloid to you?" Daryl muttered, arching one eyebrow at the kid. Apparently what he'd said was amusing because the Korean chuckled a little. Daryl just let it roll off his shoulders, leaning against his bike while the other members of their group stood on a very careful watch. He didn't move until he heard something unexpected coming from the RV. The door to the vehicle was open and he cautiously followed Glenn who dared to climb inside. Once he had moved out of the way Daryl saw what was happening.

Beth was situated next to her sister on the RV's semi-circle table, her back against her sister's chest while her damaged leg remained stretched on the seat. Maggie had tied a length of cloth around the ankle and over the wound itself to help stop the bleeding but even in the shadows Daryl could see the blood soaking through the rag. Glenn took a seat on Maggie's other side, helping to support the brunette as Beth continued to lean into her older sister. Fox was perched on one of the RV's counters, the guitar that she had stashed away under the bed in her lap, her fingers pressed to the strings.

"What else you wanna hear kiddo?" she asked, her voice smooth and easy as though she wasn't watching the little girl die right in front of her. Daryl could see the pain behind her eyes, especially when she looked over at him. He wanted to tell her he didn't have to torture herself like this, but he didn't. If Fox didn't want to be here, she wouldn't, he knew that much.

Beth's eyes fluttered open. "Something soft. Pretty." She spoke as though it hurt to breathe and Maggie gently stroked her cheek, running her fingers through her hair, rocking her back and forth.

Fox nodded. "I have one for you then. Something I wrote for my little sister." She said with a glance at Maggie who met her eyes, tears watering in them but she didn't let them fall.

Daryl took a seat on the steps, his back facing the group in the RV but he didn't walk away. He normally didn't stay so close to such emotional scenes but he wanted to hear what Fox had to play, and he knew that even if she put on such a brave face that she was hurting inside, and for whatever reasons he still didn't fully understand, she liked to have him there when she hurt. So he would stay for her and because even though it was still summer the night was cold and he didn't know of any other place he could go.

Fox began to pick at the strings creating a slow, flowery melody, back and forth, up and down, almost like water moving slowly across smoothed stones in a brook in spring. Her usually husky voice was surprisingly light as she began to sing.

"Here we are again, on some lonely open road. No place yet to call our own. The stars are burning bright but the air is cold. You lean into me and ask me if we're home." She let the music carry her for a moment before continuing. "And all I have to say is no. But it doesn't matter, 'cause under my wing I'll keep you warm. Even when the rain comes pouring down. Even when the sun dies behind the clouds. Here in my arms you'll be safe and sound."

"You're so weary in this wide, wide world. Burning feet and aching fingers, trying to keep pace with those taller than you. So little and so rushed, too young for such a fast paced life. You stumble forward, but I'm here to catch you when you fall. You're so tired, no more strength to see the dawn. But it doesn't matter. Cause under my wing I'll keep you warm. Even when the rain comes pouring down. Even when the sun dies behind the clouds. Here in my arms you'll be safe and sound."

"Close your eyes. Sleep safe and sound tonight. Let the wheels take you to your dreams. Run through the flower fields, fly higher than the eagle's skies. Close your eyes, sleep safe and sound tonight. I'll keep the shadows at bay, no warmth will slip away. Cause under my wing I'll keep you warm. Even when the rain comes pouring down. Even when the sun dies behind the clouds. Here in my arms, you'll be safe and sound."

She played the music several more times but when Daryl turned to watch he could see her fingers shaking. Beth's eyes had closed but Daryl could see she was still breathing, albeit in shallow breaths. Maggie's fingers moved through her hair as her eyes squeezed close, trying not to cry even as she rocked the little girl back and forth. After about ten minutes, when she was sure Beth was passed out from either exhaustion or blood loss, she managed to open her eyes and look at Fox.

"You went back for her?" she asked, fixing the redhead with a steely gaze, but that steel was built on pain, not anger.

"Yes." Fox answered, but now her own voice was calculating. "Why was she still at the house anyway?"

Maggie's lips trembled and Glenn who was still with her squeezed her hand tight to reassure her, steadying her before she answered.

"I ran for the vehicles and Beth was right behind me, but she turned at the last second and ran back for the house. She went back for this." She opened one of her closed fists and in her palm was a bloodstained pocket-watch.

"It was Dad's. It was all we had left and she'd left it on the counter in the kitchen. By the time I realized she wasn't with me the herd had cut me off." Her voice choked and she tilted her head down, unable to speak anymore. Glenn leaned his cheek against the top of her head and silently closed his eyes.

"She is with the one she loves. It's all any of us could ask for in this life." Fox murmured softly before she set the guitar down in its case in the bedroom of the RV. Daryl stood up to let her pass when she left the RV and followed closely behind her. She seemed to have swallowed down most of her pain and her eyes were calm. He looked at her with a silent question and she actually managed a small smile.

"You're my second chance." She whispered. "All of you." She didn't have to explain what she meant by that, but she did anyway, as if to make it seem more real to her.

"I couldn't save my group in Atlanta, but I helped you and Glenn. I couldn't make peace with my sister but Beth could have been her twin…" she paused for a moment, a solitary tear slipping down her cheek. "It is not the same, but it's more than I ever thought I would ever get. More than I ever deserved."

He fought down his instinct to keep himself removed and took a step closer to her and took her by the hand again. He could hear the shouting voices of his father and his brother in the back of his mind, calling him weak, calling him all the names he'd fought so hard to prove he wasn't. He could feel their disdain and contempt and it made him want to let go and tell himself that she meant nothing to him, but he was done lying to himself. His father was gone, his brother was gone. She was what was here, and he wasn't going to let their ghosts control him anymore. He was done pretending that these people meant nothing to him, that she meant nothing to him. Did he love her? He didn't know, but he remembered the way his heart had tried to tear itself out of his chest when he saw her go down with Beth under the pile of writhing Walkers. The way he'd been ready to dig her out no matter how many gnashing bodies stood in his way. And besides. He didn't care what anybody thought of him, right? So what did he care if the others saw him hold her hand. The cool whisper of death sure has a funny way of reshuffling one's priorities…

"Well look at you." She murmured, fixing him with a mischievous stare as her fingers curled around his. "Didn't expect this from you so soon."

He shrugged his shoulders and dared to twitch his lips into a thin smile. "If I don't hold onto ya you'll go tearing off after all the Walkers again. Can't have that."

She laughed a little, water shining in her green eyes. She leaned into him, her head touching the bottom of his chin and although it still made him shiver, he didn't pull away. Instead he let his cheek gently rest against the top of her head and he sighed pleasantly. There was death and decay and the smell of blood and fear everywhere, but in this one split second, he could forget the world was crumbling around them. He could forget everything he was, everything he might have been, everything he might not ever be. He breathed in deep and took in her smell and the cool wind of the midnight breeze and despite the pain seeping into every crevice of his being, he could appreciate being alive.


	20. Chapter 20

**_Well my lovely readers and reviewers, we are back! And this time, I am armed with new information, I FINALLY caved and bought the season pass for Season 3 of the Walking Dead because I just couldn't stand not knowing and I wanted to catch up before they continue the third season in February. I won't spoil it just in case anybody hasn't seen it but I am biting my lip and tearing my hair out, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! Ahhhhhhh! Ok. I will try and contain myself before I have an ulcer. Just...FEBRUARY FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS GET HERE QUICKLY! Ok. That's all. *deep breaths* Alrighty then, on with the show._**

**NEVSTER**: _[Chapter Seventeen Review] (Female reader, if my username is misleading). Sweet Jesus. WHAT an end. WHAT a CHAPTER. I've been reading this Fic for about two weeks now, but this is my first time reviewing, as you can probably tell. I have been spacing it out, trying to read a chapter a day, as it's almost instinctual to read on and on and on, which is something I would not like to do - I like to savour. The reason why I love this Fanfiction so much is that you sculpt everything around a stable and well structured story-line. A lot of other TWD writers, although they are superb with what they do, just explain and describe Walker kills and massacres in heaps of detail, which can occasionally get quite boring. The way you portray Fox's relationships with other characters is just amazing, and I almost WANT everyone to hate her, now - including Daryl. The beginning of this chapter (17) was rather slow, but it worked, in my opinion. Things really started to build up towards the end with the mysterious figure, and then it just... STOPPED. You really know how to entice the reader to truly analyse your fiction, picking out key parts of information that may be useful in the near future. You're a brilliant writer and, apart from the odd (spelling) mistake here and there (which is completely understandable, when you're in a rush to deliver what people (and I) can't wait for, and it's a lot of stress coming up with the superb events that you do), "Wildflower" is just PERFECT. There are two things I hope to see in the next chapter, or soon. 1. I REALLY would like to know Fox's real name, it's gotten to the point now where I'm having an absolute seizure over it. I don't know if you'll share it or not, but I REALLY want to know. xD 2. I'm hoping that the mysterious, quick figure is NOT Fox in some kind of supernatural form. I hope that she doesn't actually turn into a fox or anything like that. For me, it would ruin the realistic aspect of this story, which is hard to do with Zombie fics. All in all, I've really enjoyed this Fanfiction so far and cannot WAIT for the next installment. Good luck!_

My God, I am SOOOO sorry that I didn't reply to this review when I posted chapter eighteen. I make it a point to reply to every view as I get them, and for some reason yours didn't show up! But since its so long and so wonderfully detailed, I will include it in this posting. To address your key points in the review, yes, Fox will eventually give up her real name, but I can't say when or how that will occur. But it will be revealed. Eventually. Lol. And the second point, Fox is completely human. No supernatural elements going on here (except for the zombies of course, lol). I figured since its a detail that doesn't actually exist, I could clarify yes or no on that point. I really wanted Fox to be as real as possible, including all the good, and bad parts about her. I've known people like her, stubborn and absolutely unyielding even if it drives people crazy, so if she rubs you the wrong way at least some of the time, I'm definitely doing my job. As for her interactions with the characters, its getting harder and harder because as she becomes more intertwined with all of them and starts to see who they really are, her perspective and her motives start to change. She is almost like Daryl in another form in that as the story (and the show) progresses, she begins to fundamentally change at her core. As far as writing goes, it's all about trying to get the correct timing and flow for that change. Anyways, thank you so much for such a wonderful review and I hope I continue to see you write in!

**ry123red**: _Poor Fox, I hope she finds some hair dye soon! lol. But this was a surprisingly long chapter, so yay more to read! It's so sad about T-Dog and Beth, but people are going to die in a world like that. And the fact that Daryl is getting more comfortable touching Fox is progress! I really enjoy watching their relationship continue to deepen. Also, the moment where Glenn was talking to Daryl was really funny. Hopefully, Maggie never finds out...Anyways, another amazing chapter! Can't wait to read more._

I know, I share her angst over fading hair dye as I am Dye-hard myself, Unfortunately professionalism dictates what colors I can have my hair at the moment, but I've had almost every color under the sun. Indeed it is sad when people die…especially good people, but they will die in this world, the logistical odds are just too overwhelming. I have mapped out who's slated for the chopping block and at first it was pretty much set in stone but now I'm starting to reconsider…so we'll see what happens as we move deeper into uncharted waters. I really enjoy writing the deepening of Daryl and Fox's relationship, its such a tightrope act, even for me, the creator of it all! Trying to balance who Daryl really is, with who Fox really is, as they struggle to come together because they obviously are both looking for something to hang on to. In the show I think the glue that really cemented Daryl's relationship to the rest of the group was the hunt for Sophia. In my own world, it's a combo of his feelings for Fox (which can bring to light friendship/bonded feelings for the rest of the group) and just the enormity of the time spent in their company. You just can't help but get close to people when you're on the road with them, I know this from experience. And yes, I added a bit of a humorous moment just to kind of take the edge off, just a little. It's all a balancing act.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Daryl totally loves Fox and vice versa :) Poor TDog and Beth but they are somewhere safe now :) Damn who is that person Shane saw and where is the other group? Mystery! Haha loved Daryl and Glenn's small combo total lol :) Another great chapter, Update Soon!_

Mmm, they are both starting to call that idea into question. We shall see what they come up with as the uncharted waters of this story deepen. And yes, they are in a better place now, along with all the other victims of this world. Ohhhh, the plot thickens, you'll find out who Shane was speaking too soon enough, I can't wait for that moment ;) And yes, a little fluffy moment with Daryl and Glenn, I love it when the two of them have screen time together, Daryl picks on him and Glenn is just like 'come on man…really?' its so funny.

**CreepyDaisy**: _That song Fox sang for Beth was amazing! Did you write it yourself? And I'm suspicious of Shane, something stinks around him. Could it be that he attracted the walkers to the group? And who was he meeting with? Argh, it's so frustrating! Seriously, I think you'll give me the ulcer! :) Stay awesome and update soon!_

I did write it myself actually. I gathered up all my soft acoustic music that I could find for inspiration and wrote the lyrics. As a side project I'm working on making some music of my own for it, maybe one day I will actually get the gumption to sing it myself. I have two little sisters so I understand how it feels to want to protect and give them the whole world, and yet keep them sheltered and safe. Oh Shane, he can't take two steps into the screen without bringing a cloud of suspicion around him. I recently re-watched the episode of the first time he held his gun to Rick when they were first looking for Sophia in the woods, oh the tension and animalistic wanting to just pull the trigger was incredible. I hope I can bring in some of that as the climax begins to approach. Hopefully my updates will soothe the impending ulcer, lol, thanks for writing in!

**Emberka-2012**:_I like the the progress of relations Daryl and Fox. They feel more comfortable with each other. It is sad that died T-Dog and Beth. Still remains a mystery what on mind of Shane and where the other group._

They are definitely feeling more comfortable with each other, especially since impending death has a way of reshuffling one's priorities. I can imagine that in a zombie apocalypse where every single hour might be your last, you wouldn't waste too much time on trying to play hard to get. Every death is sad in its own way, even in the show when Shane died there was grief there, and not just feeling bad for Rick and how he had to murder his own best friend, but for Shane too…sadness for the man he could have been, that maybe he was but was twisted and warped into a monster. In some ways he was a casualty of the ZA world as much as some of those who were eaten by the zombies themselves.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _BBBEEEETTTHHH and T-DDDOOOGGG D: That was extremely depressing, but I love how you changed the storyline and not just Daryl's part in it like other Fanfics. You are so talented and I love the way you write. I can picture everything going on and this chapter really held my attention. I can't wait for the next chapter to see where the group ends up!_

As in the show, there are moments of peace and even happiness, but it is always overshadowed by the impending weight of the world outside, the zombies. I think Season 3 really captures this well as they suffer some tremendous losses but also have gains as well, the new baby, finding Carol, etc, and I think it gives them something to hang on to, and I try to have that same idea in my own story, just in different manifestations. I really hope to bring in a lot more of that as the plot thickens =)

**hayleyjune13**:_ Hot damn! Update soon please? :)_

You know I found myself saying that several times as I watched the actual show, lol.

**SilverAdvenger12**: _Loved the chapter! Great ending! :)_

Though this is a world ravaged by zombies and it seems like could cave in at every second and hope is such a thin thread, I try to not leave chapters on depressed notes. I think in the long run it makes for a better story. Just my opinion though.

**Readergirl66**: Awesome chapter and story, I can't wait for more. Please update soon. :)

Thanks for writing in! Always nice to hear from new voices =)

**Jerrie Higarashi**:_ Hey there! It's still Jerrie Higarashi, lol. Just didn't feel like signing in :) Anyways, How many times do I have to freaking tell you that your chapters are awesome? Though I am quite sad that TDog is gone now...He's always been my freaking favorite... RIP TDog! D: Meh, Beth was pretty much useless , not to be cruel or anything, lol, but it's true! Though still, her death was sad...if she even died yet... OMG I was so damn pissed that those dead fuckers overran the damn plantation! They could've made a little life out of that! That damn Shane is up to no good...I know he isn't I'm starting to think he attracted those bastards to the house... Grrrr...The conversation between Daryl and Fox are amazing :) I'm glad he starting to get confused on what he feels about her now, he loves her but he just don't wanna admit it to himself yet. Hmmm, I think Fox should prolly let her hair go back natural again, but then...she won't be the Fox we know anymore! Lol. Hopefully she snag a box of dye soon! :) Awesome Chapter once again! Please keep updating soon :) Loves Ya :DDD_

In the zombie apocalypse world, there's generally two schools of thought. Keep on the run or the zombies will find you and tear you to pieces, or try and find somewhere strong and secure to hole up. I think in a realistic situation, you would eventually have to settle down somewhere, there's just not enough resources to sustain a large population, or even a small one like the group's, for very long on the road. It's only natural that human beings try to put together what reminds them of their lives before it was ripped away, so I think that's why they keep gravitating to places like the plantation, but now they see that if they want to survive, they have to do something entirely different. Although Daryl will always be my favorite, T-dog had a quiet but intense sense of energy and efficiency he brought to the group. He wasn't a leader like Rick, but he was always willing to do what was necessary to protect the others, including facing his own fears without hesitation, and that is something to be admired for. Beth, as far as her skill set is concerned, didn't contribute as much, but i have always had a soft spot for gentle souls like hers. I think they bring something very much needed in a world like this. I think they foster a sense of nurture and remind people that it can just be slashing and gunshots and bloodshed, they have to keep their hearts to or the the post-apocalyptic world will haven taken them down even if they're still breathing. As for Daryl and Fox…it is a precarious dance they're weaving together. Daryl knows he feels something for her that he's never felt about anyone else, something he can't really explain or even have a name for. He's scared to say its love, because he's seen what love supposedly looks like and he doesn't want that for himself. And Fox..in some ways she's just as scared as he is, but she laughs in the face of fear and tries to cover it up and pretend it doesn't really exist. But of course it does, and they have to try and sort out their feelings together, somehow. And yes, her poor hair, it's turning pink! I've had my hair her color before and it was an awful sad moment for me when I realized my hair was more pink than red. Thank God our world hasn't ended and I can nip over to my local Hot Topic to remedy that problem.

**Emerald Gaze**: _that was definitly not how i pictured how she'd bond with beth, you are diabolical i really like how you set things up everything is different from the show but at the same time there are similarities and now i'm thinking that maybe this other group that shane found could be randel's group!_!_

You know I'm really surprised that there aren't more Walking Dead fan fictions because what this world does is set up the parameters and then just runs with all of these ideas and themes, and from themes can even more ideas be drawn, and that's what I try to do with my own story. I run with some of the key themes from both the show and from what I think life in a ZA world would be like and just go with it and see how far I can go, with who the characters are as guidelines, a rulebook so to speak. And yes, poor Beth and Fox. I really debated giving them more screen time together but I had already planned for the herd to roll through and the logistical odds that she'd actually make it out alive were slim to none, so she was on the chopping block. I'm glad that in the actual show she's tougher now and contributes more to the group. And we shall see who Shane found hm? We shall see ;)

* * *

The gunshot had already been fired. It was the only sound to crack the silence as the sun slowly peaked over the damp Georgia trees, casting the sky in a hazy shade of pink and blue. Gold beams filtered through the trees into the field as Maggie finished packing in the last of the earth over Beth. She wiped her eyes again for the millionth time as she finally got up and stretched her back. Glenn took her by the hand and they stood in silence, staring at the freshly tilled earth. Daryl could see Rick struggling with what to do or say and had it been up to Daryl, he would have said nothing. Beth was Maggie's family and it wasn't his place. But when Rick did finally find his words, it was the words of a leader, a leader of this group of people who were struggling to not break down, and damn if they didn't need to hear something from him, no matter what it was.

"Maggie…you took us in when we had nowhere else to go. I wish…we all wish…there was someway to take back what happened. You are welcomed to stay with us as we fight for what life remains."

The young woman nodded, fierce determination written all over her face, a clashing mix with the emotional pain from burying her last remaining family. She squeezed Glenn's hand tightly for a moment before letting go and facing them.

"Thank you for helping me bury my sister. I wish we could give the same to T-dog."

Everyone felt that heavy weight settle on their shoulders like a overheated blanket. By now there'd be no body left to bury, and even if there was, there was no way they could risk a trip back to the plantation, not with the geeks likely crawling all over it still. The only course of action left was to move on.

Just at that moment Shane and Andrea were returning from a brief patrol they'd done to scout whether the highway north was clear of there was a herd they had to watch out for. There didn't seem to be panic or much of a hurry between them so Daryl figured that not much had happened, but for the first time since Amy's death Andrea seemed focused and actually responsive to the rest of the group. During the night she had spoken quietly with Maggie while Beth hung in that very precarious stage between life and death, and the half-life of a Walker. He didn't know what was said, but whatever had gone on between the two women seemed to have perked the older blonde up. She had her gun firmly in hand and her eyes were clear as she approached Rick.

"The highway north is clear but there's a point where it crosses close to the plantation boundary. If we want to get ahead of the herd, we should go, soon." She said. Shane nodded in agreement but Daryl watched as Fox tilted her head, staring at him with cold, vengeful eyes.

"Alright. We have a decision to make." Rick said, calling the rest of the group forward back to the road away from Beth's grave. Glenn took a firm hold on Maggie's hand again and Daryl maneuvered himself next to Fox. She gave him a calculated little grin that he didn't quite understand, but it made him smile inside regardless. She turned her attention back to Rick when he spoke again.

"We all know what Georgia is like. It's overrun with Walkers. The weather is better suited for our current supplies, but the fact of the matter is, the South is a built out sprawl. Anywhere we go puts us dangerously close to another town or neighborhood that is overrun with herds. Now Daryl had an idea that if we head up North we might have a chance to find a place that's actually isolated away from any cities or towns. I want to know what you all think before we make a decision."

Fox glanced at Daryl when Rick called him out by name, something like approval in her eyes, but it ran a little deeper than that. The other members of the group shifted on their feet in silence for a moment.

"How far North are we talking about exactly?" Andrea asked.

"We'd have to go damn far to get out of reach of the South's sprawl." Daryl started, holding Andrea's steady blue eyed gaze. A little trace of who she'd been before Amy's death peeked through and that thought was comforting as it was irritating. "Some place up at the edge of Appalachia, or the Catskills."

"Could we even survive up there?" Carol asked as she held Sophia's hand. "At least in Georgia it doesn't usually snow. And don't we need to stay close to civilization to scavenge for supplies?"

"Scavenging ain't gonna cut it. Not in the long run." Daryl said firmly, shouldering his bow across his back. "If we're really gonna survive long-term, we have to be able to grow or hunt our own food. Georgia's got better farmland, but it ain't impossible in the mountains. And there's game up there. Big game."

"As far as the snow is concerned, we can take winter supplies on the way up there. And the cold will work to our advantage. It'll slow the Walkers down physically, and the snow will help wash out our scent. Their sense of smell is only a little bit stronger than our own, not like a dog's, they wouldn't be able to track us through the snow, not unless there was a blood trail." Rick responded.

"How do you know the cold will slow them down?" Dale asked, calculating eyes meeting Rick's. It wasn't a challenge but it was a demand for information.

"The reports at the CDC." Rick said firmly. "The infection needs a human host to survive, but without a living heart or blood circulation, they can't keep limber without an external source of heat like the sun. They'll still be able to move, but they will be stiffer and slower."

Fox shifted slightly glancing at Rick carefully. They made eye contact briefly and Daryl wondered if maybe Fox had some suspicion about Rick had found at the CDC. He said it had just been lab reports left by the docs, but Daryl was wondering if it was more than that. Fox seemed to be of the same mind.

"I don't know man…the cold…the lack of supplies to scavenge off of…what if we get there and we can't make it? If we starve to death…well damn it would have been a waste, wouldn't it have been?" Shane shook his head, hands on his hips. "Plus there ain't just Walkers out there. Up North is big game. Bears. Wolves."

"We've got weapons. We could handle them." Daryl muttered with a dirty look thrown Shane's way.

"It's almost a thousand miles from here to the Catskills. Could we even make that trip before winter?" Glenn asked. He looked like he was afraid to rock the boat even more, but Maggie nodded her approval and some of his tension seemed to dissipate.

"I've made the drive, its about fourteen hours if you don't stop. No telling what it might be with the condition the roads are in though." Fox said, one foot scraping against the ground with a slight grating sound. Her kukri knives were still holstered against her back but she had cleaned them during the night after Beth had fallen from consciousness.

"How much fuel do we have?" Rick asked, glancing at Dale.

"The RV can go four hundred miles, tops, and that's without running the electricity or water. The cars will go about three hundred. Daryl's bike…maybe a hundred, and that's if we're careful." Dale shook his head solemnly. "If it's a thousand miles from here to the Catskills, we're looking at stopping for fuel several times. And that's always risky."

"You think there's any chance we could steal a gasoline tanker and just take it with us?" Fox asked. Daryl raised his eyebrows at her. It was an off the wall suggestion but he didn't see why it wasn't at least worth saying.

"I doubt it. Even if we did, the truck ain't easy to hide or move around." Shane muttered.

"Shane's right. If we make this trip, we'll be scavenging gasoline on the way up. We can get maps on the way, they should have gas stations noted on them, that will help. Plus there are abandoned cars we can siphon from just like we've been doing."

"We have to be careful about the major highways though." Andrea said. "Any place where there could have been a lot of people is a breeding ground for Walkers."

"How long would this trip take?" Lori asked, speaking for the first time, and Daryl wasn't surprised. With her being pregnant, the sooner they had themselves a stable, secure place to hunker down, the better.

"At best?" Dale responded, chewing it over for a minute. "Two weeks? Maybe longer. Depends on how easy it is to get fuel, and if we decide to travel at night as well as during the day."

"It's not even fall yet. If we hurried we could make it there while its still warm out." Fox encouraged.

"Yeah and what happens if we get stuck? Can't find gasoline, can't find food, can't find shelter, then where are we?" Shane growled, staring her down, sparks of hate igniting in the back of his pupils. Daryl made to step forward but Fox beat him too it.

"You got a better suggestion?" she hissed. "Cause if you do, don't be shy."

"What I originally said before we took this fucked up detour. Fort Bennet. It's well supplied with food, gasoline, and weapons. It's perfect for us!" He started to advance towards her and Daryl bristled but Rick laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, stopping his movements.

"And populated by hundreds of Walkers." Andrea muttered, her fingers brushing the edge of her pistol. "You really think what's left of us could take them on?"

"We've got the damn bullets! Now all we need is the balls to use them!" Shane insisted.

"And what if we get there and there's nothing left? If the military took it all when they bailed out? We'd use up all our ammunition for nothing!" Fox argued.

"She's right." Glenn said quietly, looking at them all carefully. "Georgia is overrun. If the military surrendered Atlanta, why the hell would they stay at Fort Bennet? If they knew how bad the situation was, they would have pulled their supplies out when they bailed. The only thing waiting for us there is an army of Walkers."

There was a tense, uneasy silence that fell over them all. Daryl glanced from person to person wondering if they were going to be able to make a cohesive decision as a group, or if it would be the weight of the words of a few against the rest. He looked at Fox last and she looked back at him with a coy little smile on her lips. She thrust her hands into the pocket of her shorts and if she'd of been sitting at a desk, he was sure she would have put her feet up and leaned back in her chair, ever the smartass rebel. But for what reason, especially right in this moment, he'd never be able to fathom. Did she know something that the rest of them didn't?

"We vote. Those who think we should try for the Catskills?" Rick asked.

Daryl raised his hand, as did Fox. Maggie raised hers and after a tentative hesitation, Glenn did as well. Carol and Sophia joined in, as did Carl. Daryl was glad to see the kids were participating, and unlike some, he didn't think them naïve enough to make an uneducated choice.

"And those against?"

Shane put his hand up first, followed soon after by Dale and Andrea. It wasn't lost on Daryl that Lori didn't vote. She was waiting to see what her husband would do. Something about that rubbed him the wrong way. Couldn't she think for herself? At least that was one problem Fox didn't have.

"Alright. We go North. First stop we find a detailed map of the area we're in, and where we're likely to find gasoline. We refuel and then we make for the Catskills. We'll find a place to stop for cold weather supplies on the way up. Move out." Rick barked. He looked exhausted but there was still that fierce light in his eyes that said he wasn't giving up and he wasn't going to let anyone else give up either. He ruffled Carl's hair as he followed his father to one of the vehicles while Shane stalked towards the RV with Andrea and Dale, moving stiffly as though he were holding himself back from a fight. Daryl moved towards his bike and Fox followed.

"Something's up." She hissed as he swung himself on the machine.

"How you mean?" he asked.

"With Shane. He's always had a stick up his ass, but even more so now. Did you see the way he looked at Rick? Looked like he was about to rip him to pieces."

Daryl rolled his shoulders as he cranked the engine to life. Fox's arms slid around his waist and he gunned the bike forward, picking up speed, mulling over what Fox had said. It was becoming clearer that either Shane was showing his true colors, or the world they now found themselves in was changing him. For the sake of his sanity Daryl liked to think it was the latter, but more and more he was wondering if that was really true. He kept his eyes peeled as he fell in line with the convoy, the cool wind of the morning waking him up almost as good as a cup of strong coffee might have. He hadn't slept at all last night- most of them hadn't, too amped up from the battle with the herd and too jittery from having to keep constant watch on the open highway. It felt good to be moving again. Daryl had never done much traveling in his life, but staying in one place with a herd of undead sons of bitches looking to eat them alive didn't make for such a comfortable stay.

Fox wasn't leaning against him like she usually did. Instead she was sitting up straight, loosely holding on to his waist, her head up, taking in her surroundings. Wasn't much to see but the gently rolling terrain of Georgia farmland, the occasional Walker staggering through the fields or emerging from the trees as the convoy blew by. The sunlight was still golden for now, but before long it would turn white hot and unrelenting.

_You'll be begging for that heat in the dead of winter up North boy. _

He gunned the engine to drown out the sound of his brother's voice and felt Fox squeeze his waist tighter. He felt her hands let go and slide to his upper arms, her nails biting in and he got the message. He eased up on the throttle and she relaxed again, now leaning into him.

They traveled most of the day until they found a set of old buildings that included a gas station, a bait shop, and a diner. The convoy rolled into the parking lot and immediately people piled out, whipping guns forward. As soon as the bike had rolled to a halt, Fox had dismounted and pulled her kukri knives loose. Her hair was a wild, tangled mess of red strands that flashed in the sunlight but she wore a look of determination.

"Hand to hand!" Rick hissed as they spotted a small group of Walkers milling around the parking lot that were now headed their way.

Fox was the first to dart forward, Daryl following close behind her with his bow at the ready, the sheathe to his buck knife loosened. Fox whacked off two Walkers heads as Daryl fired an arrow from his crossbow, spearing a third between the eyes. Shane, Rick, and Glenn all followed them, stabbing or cracking skulls with their various weapons. Soon the dozen or so Walkers in the parking lot lay dead.

"Ok, scavenge anything of use, look for maps especially, Glenn, Dale, get as much gasoline as you can, take that drum over there and fill it if possible, put it in the back of the pick up." Rick said, pointing with his knife to a large metal canister that was resting in the back parking lot of the gas station. Everybody fanned out, Fox and Daryl heading for the bait shop, both her knives still loosed. She waited until he had loaded a fresh arrow in his bow before cracking open the door which tripped a bell. They both froze, not even daring to breathe as they waited to see if the sound would draw any Walkers out.

Nothing moved in the store so they crossed the threshold and let the door close behind them. Inside was dark and filled with the smell of dead fish so they didn't waste a lot of time. Fox unzipped her bag and began to stuff it with supplies, beef jerky, trail mix, anything that would keep on the road that she found on the shelves. She also took several lighters and glanced at Daryl when he reached behind the counter and picked up a pack of cigarettes.

"You smoke?" he asked her.

"Only if someone else does." She said. "Ruins the throat for singing."

He almost smiled at that for some reason and pocketed the cigarettes anyway. They took fishing hooks and line and a few standard poles as well, having lost the ones they'd had at the quarry in the mad scramble when the Walkers had blown through. When they'd scavenged everything of use they went back outside and put what they'd found in the back of the pick up.

"Any maps?" Andrea asked where she was standing guard, a tense expression in her eyes as she continually swept the perimeter holding Dale's rifle in her arms.

"Nah. Got stuff to go fishing with though." Daryl responded. He saw her eyes crinkle a little at the corners, golden blonde hair billowing in the hot breeze that picked up and that was when he remembered that she and Amy used to fish the quarry together to bring back dinner. He was sorry to see the pain there but in a strange way he was proud when her expression eased and she returned to keeping a vigilant guard. Just then Rick and Shane came back from the gas station, Rick carrying a thick folded up piece of paper in his hand.

"Got a map." He said, jogging over to the truck and rolling it out, using his gun as a paperweight on one of the corners. "Goes as far as West Virginia, it won't get us all the way there, but it'll be close."

"Is it detailed enough?" Lori asked as she stared at it carefully but with confusion.

"Looks like a tangled mess of yarn a cat got hold of." Shane muttered, looking at the dozens of overlapping multicolored lines.

"I can read it." Fox said deftly, nimbly slinking her way around Rick to get better access to the map. "We're right here." She lightly tapped a tiny speck of color that created a twisted intersection down towards the bottom of the map. "These are the main highways here." She let her fingers trail upwards on several different lines, some of them intersecting. "And this is the interstate." She traced a thick red line, her eyes darting back and forth.

"What's our safest road?" Rick questioned.

She studied the map carefully for a few moments. "Right here." She said, using just her nail to indicate a tiny grey line that zigzagged every which way over the paper, slowly but surely making its way north. "It's a back road. Probably won't be much on it by way of supplies or lights, but it'll be away from Walkers."

"The sun's gonna set in a couple hours. We need to find somewhere to hole up until dawn." Shane said firmly as Rick continued studying the map.  
"You see anything on here that would work for us?" Rick asked, looking at Fox who kept her eyes on the twisted up mass of lines on the paper.

Just then Maggie came back from setting more supplies down in the RV. Fox let her slide in to crowd around the hood of the truck and showed her the road they intended to take.

"I know this road, there's a few houses several miles apart scattered along it, we can stay in one of them." She said with a nod.

"Alright. Soon as we're finished getting gasoline, we move. Fox, study the map, Daryl, you ride up front and we'll follow you."

"You got it." Daryl said with a nod at the man as he went to help finish getting the gasoline while Fox stared straight down at the map, soaking in all of the information, tracing several routes with her fingers and muttering to herself quietly.

"Where'd you learn to read something like that?" he asked.

Her lips twitched into a quiet smile. "I used to navigate Mom when we were traveling. I got good at reading even the shittiest maps. Even in another language, North, South, East, and West all go the same way."

He let her study the map for a while more before she rolled it up carefully and tucked it into her backpack. Right about then they saw Glenn and Dale struggling to get the metal drum up into the back of the pick up and so they went to help, using their combined strength to heave the canister into the back of the truck.

"There's seventy five gallons of gasoline in there, how far will that get us?" Glenn panted wiping sweat away from his brow before putting his cap back on his head.

"Not all the way, but it's a start." Rick said. "Good work guys. Let's top off the vehicles and get going!" he called as they saw a few Walkers start to make their way out from the field across the highway.

Daryl hurried to his bike and Fox helped him roll it to a pump, keeping a vigilant watch while he filled the tank. As soon as it was full he rolled the machine away from the pump and then cranked up the engine, keeping a very close eye on the Walkers who were struggling to climb out of the ditch they'd fallen into that lined the edge of the highway.

"You ought to let me drive, if I'm gonna be the one navigating." Fox said with a mischievous gleam in her eye. He looked her over like her hair had turned green and she snickered a little.

"The day you drive this bike is when you gotta save my sorry ass from something a lot more dangerous than Walkers." He told her with a sharp nod as he climbed up on the motorcycle. She laughed even harder before climbing on behind him.

"Squeeze my right shoulder to turn right, same for left, otherwise I'm just gonna go straight." He glanced over his shoulder at her, still seeing the laughter in her eyes which despite himself, he was pleased by. She nodded and he flicked the kick stand up and squeezed the throttle, pulling out of the parking lot ahead of the rest of the vehicles, wishing he had a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes from the fierce glare as the Georgia sunlight began to turn the leaves of the trees to gold, washing the faded blacktop in warm amber light. As they pulled away from the straggle of buildings and were once again surrounded by fields and trees and fences with chipped paint the air smelled clean, free of the tang of blood and rotted death. Something in him gave an uncomfortable twinge at the thought of leaving this place behind. He had lived in Georgia all his life, and while sometimes he'd cursed it through a mouthful of whiskey and cigarette smoke, the knowledge that they'd be abandoning this place for somewhere most of them had never even seen before made him feel the tiniest bit lonely and even homesick. His thoughts drifted to his brother, wondering if Merle was still alive, if he was searching for him, if he thought Daryl was dead and if he did, where he would go or what he would do with himself. He knew one thing for certain though, Merle would never leave the South. No one could drag him over the Mason Dixon line if his life depended on it. The thought he was purposefully leaving this place, the only place he'd ever have even the smallest chance of finding Merle made him uneasy, but then he felt Fox gently squeeze his left shoulder at an upcoming turn before leaning her cheek against his back and her arms snake around his abdomen, gently pulling herself close to him. A flush of heat completely unconnected with the warmth of the slowly setting sun against his skin spilled over him and he struggled to reconcile the two opposing forces threatening to tear him apart. He was grateful for the roar of the motorcycle's engine and the howl of the wind through his ears to help drown out all of the shouting voices. He dearly wished that he could just drive all night until he was so tired he wouldn't have any other choice but to just pass out and not think about the consequences of his actions. He had been the one to suggest this hair-brained idea to Rick. But what he had said back then had not been false. They would stand a better chance of long-term survival away from the sprawl of the South. Winter would be hard, but the cold that could threaten their lives would provide them protection against the plague of undead bastards that were trying so hard to tear them all to pieces. His stomach rolled over uncomfortably as they rode on, because he knew, he just _knew _that by doing this, he was damning any chance of finding Merle, he was abandoning him, leaving him to die in this piece of shit world that had gone to hell.

He was grateful for the wind whipping at his face because the solitary tear that was pulled from his eye was quickly blown away. He tightened his grip on the handlebars of the bike, using only one hand to squeeze it as tightly as possible, his entire body knotting up with tension as he fought to keep from cringing in revulsion. And then like a some red haired angel, Fox leaned into him again and he felt the warmth of her breath against the back of his neck for a brief second, and the tension in his shoulders slowly began to loosen.

He wasn't alone. Merle was gone, but he wasn't alone, and even though he couldn't entirely shake the feeling that he was abandoning Merle and acting like the world's shittiest brother she somehow soothed some of the tension and pain. It wasn't anything she said, there were no words between them. It was something in the way she moved, in the way she breathed gently against him, reminding him she was there. For the first time that he'd known her, she made his feelings bearable rather than overwhelming. He was grateful for her presence rather than thrown off balance by it. He decided for once in his damn life not to question his feelings and just go with it. There wasn't much he could do now to change the situation anyway.

She guided him as the sun continued going down, peeling off the highway and down into a twisting turning back road that reminded him of the road he used to take when he'd be driving Merle home from a bar late on any night of the week since Merle had no concept of anybody else's time but his own. He switched on the headlight to his bike and slowed down a little. It was still light out, the sky coated with soft pink and blue shades in the west, dark navy blues and indigos on the east. This was the time deer would be out feeding, and potentially crossing roads. Hitting one with a car was bad enough, on a bike it could be lethal.

As the sun continued going down he began to scout for a place to stop for the night. His bones were getting stiff and his skin was going cold from the continuous pull of the wind, especially now that the sun was almost set. He saw an unpaved turn off that looked like a driveway and decided to chance it, leaning into the turn gently, the rest of the convoy following him closely.

He turned out not to be wrong and they came up to a boarded up two story house. They fanned out towards the road and everyone piled out, weapons withdrawn, rolling shoulders and cracking wrists as they prepared for entry.

"Hand to hand if you can help it." Rick hissed before leading them up the porch and nudging the front door, which was unlocked. It swung open to show them a dark doorway and the smell of stale air and dust greeted them. Clearly this place hadn't been opened in a long time.

"Stay together!" Rick ordered as he pulled out his large knife and led them into the house. Daryl understood why they didn't fan out, this place was dark and unfamiliar, and it would be all too easy to accidently stab one of their own out of startled surprise around a corner. He kept right at Rick's left shoulder, Fox just behind him, Shane on Rick's other side, Glenn and Maggie bringing up the rear.

They walked into what appeared to be a living room, all of them bumping their feet on the couch that faced the abandoned television by the wall. There was a fire place that had long since been abandoned, old logs still resting neatly in its grate. They swung to the other two rooms, clearing a dining area and the kitchen before creeping down the darkened hallway. Daryl breathed deep through his nose as they came towards the first door on the right. Rick twisted the knob and pushed it open, knife in front, the rest of the group drawing their breath tight as they waited for something to come out at them.

But it was only stillness inside. They shut the door again and kept going, clearing the next two rooms, one was a bathroom and the other was another bedroom. Then came the upstairs. Rick set his foot on the stairs and leaned his weight forward to keep going but heard a God awful creaking as he did so. Everyone froze, not even daring to breathe.

They could hear the tell tale hiss-growl of Walkers from upstairs. Everyone readjusted their weapons, Daryl taking a firmer hold on his crossbow, Fox flexing her fingers on her kukri knives.

"Hurry! We don't want to fight on the stairs." Rick growled. He took the steps two at a time, Shane and Daryl right behind him, bottle necked from trying to go at the same time. Fox was right behind them but she yelped with a bite of excitement and surprise when a pack of four Walkers shuffled out onto the landing while they were in the middle of the stairs.

"Move!" she snarled at Rick, shoving her way to the front and lopping off a head cleanly with her blade.

"Duck!" Daryl barked and when he was swiftly obeyed he shot his arrow, taking another Walker down. Rick and Shane lunged up and shoved their blades through the last two Walkers' jaws and into their skulls, rendering them forever dead. The bodies piled up on the landing, leaking black, viscous blood onto the carpet.

"That's gonna be a bitch to get out." He commented dryly while Fox snickered. Shane shot them a look that clearly said they should shut the fuck up but Daryl was too relieved that the other shoe had dropped to care.

The rest of the house proved to be empty. They dragged the four bodies out and set them ablaze in the back yard with kindling they gathered from the nearby tree line. Dinner was smoked squirrel and rabbit warmed through on the fire with a few of the canned goods they'd scavenged as a side dish. All of their stomachs were still growling, having gotten used to not going hungry for two weeks. Thunder rumbled overhead over the snapping crackle of the fire and Sophia curled tighter towards her mother. Maggie's fingers interlocked with Glenn's who gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Tomorrow we'll cross out of Georgia and into South Carolina. Fox, pull the map out, let's see if there's a gas station on our route, maybe we won't have to tap that drum for a while." Rick said, breaking the nervous, uneasy silence that had settled over all of them.

Fox pulled her backpack off and unrolled the map using some of the plates and cups to hold the corners down. She quickly found the road they'd been on earlier in the day and traced her finger over the Georgia border into South Carolina. Her eyes darted to the ledger and traced the route again before she spoke.

"Looks like there's a gas station not far off our route once we cross into South Carolina. It puts us on a major highway but its one of the only places we could stop. We don't necessarily have to, but this back road isn't a straight cut through, we'll be looping around quite a ways, we'll use more gasoline that way. Now once we get here," she tapped a tiny dot on the map's surface that Daryl recognized as a truck stop, "We could resupply and maybe rest, but it could be covered in Walkers. As far as avoiding Walkers is concerned, our best bet is to just keep going on the highway until we get here." She tapped a small town in the northern section of the state. "There are small towns everywhere there, the entrance of which will have gas stations. We could run in, get gas, and get back on the road pretty quick, just like we did today."

"How long would it take to get there?" Rick asked.

"If we got an early start at dawn or just before we could be there before sunset if the roads are clear which they should be because this is such a rarely traveled road." Fox answered, sitting up again, her hair falling against her shoulders and chest as she looked at Rick. He stared back down at the map again and ran his hand against his the dark stubble on his jaw for a moment before nodding.

"Alright then. You and Daryl will lead the convoy in the morning towards this little town, Camden, in South Carolina. Study the map as long as you need to, put the fire out when you're done. Everybody else should get some sleep, we have to move out early tomorrow morning."

"I'll do a once over of the property towards the road, just to make sure its clear, and take first watch on the porch." Shane muttered getting up to his feet and stretching his back.

"Alright then, Andrea, you have second watch." Rick said as everyone started to pack up to move into the bedrooms.

"It's Fox's turn." Andrea said with a sharp look towards both Rick and the redhead. Fox shifted where she sat with the map but didn't speak yet.

"Fox has to navigate Daryl in the morning." Rick said dismissively.

"I can take watch if it's a big deal." Fox said arching her back in a stretch.

"It's not a big deal. It's just your turn." Andrea muttered.

"Wake me for watch when you come back in Shane. It's fine." Fox said with a glance at the Rick, pointedly not looking at Shane. Daryl bristled at the thought of any interactions between the two but he said nothing.

The group slowly began to disperse, moving their things into the bedrooms. Rick led Lori and Carl upstairs along with Dale and Andrea. Carol and Sophia headed for one of the downstairs rooms and it wasn't lost on Daryl how Maggie and Glenn slipped into the back bedroom downstairs together. That was definitely one room that they weren't going to try and intrude on.

"Guess its just you and me in here." Fox said with a slightly mischievous grin. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Don't Fox, I'm too tired for that tonight." He muttered as he unrolled his sleeping bag and grabbed the lumpy pillow he'd been using since the quarry and stuffed it under his head, trying to get comfortable, kicking himself for how much he missed the bed in the plantation mansion. At first he wasn't paying attention to Fox moving about the room but then he realized she'd thrown together a nest of blankets from the hall closet down next to him and grabbed one of the pillows from the sofa and tossed it down near him. She kicked off her boots before laying down on her belly next to him, still studying the map with the firelight a foot or so away.

"Seriously. Sleep on the couch." He growled, rolling his eyes again. He was tempted to get up and claim the sofa for himself but his pride wouldn't let him.

She sat up and glanced at him, more serious this time. "I like it down here. Reminds me of how I used to sleep when I was with my group."

He sighed and finally relented, his expression loosening up considerably. He sat up on his elbows and looked at the map with her feeling restless for some reason. She seemed to sense it and turned her head to look at him.

"You were upset earlier." She said softly. "When the sun was setting."

He could feel his insides knotting up but she wasn't demanding an answer from him so he didn't have to elaborate if he didn't want to. But he didn't see what was stopping him either.

"I was just thinking about Merle. And how if we really make it up North…I'll never see him again." His stomach clenched uncomfortably and he refused to look at her. She allowed him to keep his head down and she stared straight into the fire even when she answered him.

"The fact you think he's still alive proves your loyalty to him. At least to me. Leaving might feel wrong to you…but I think we have to live in the present. You know that. You acted on that on instinct when Rick asked for help. That says a lot."

He looked up at her now and she at him. "Says what?" he asked.

She lowered herself down and he could see how badly she wanted to lay hands on him. He almost let her too, but he knew deep down it would have been for the wrong reasons so his gaze was firm and she relented, although she sighed very quietly when she answered.

"You can have loyalty to more than one person or thing. It doesn't have to be a conflict, even if the two sides are different." She gave him a half smile and then turned back to the map, studying the routes again. He laid down and she began to hum softly and he let her husky voice lull him slowly to sleep.

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As soon as he was out the door Shane breathed a deeper sigh of relief. He went straight to the RV and dug underneath the passenger seat, so far underneath that his wrist flared with pain in protest, but when his fingers curled around the precious object he'd hidden there it was well worth it. He pulled the two way radio free and stalked past the convoy of vehicles, up the white dirt driveway and towards the road. As soon as he was standing on the blacktop he switched it on.

"Anybody out there?" he asked, hearing soft static come through.

"Took you long enough Shane."

"We've been on the road all day. Had to wait till the others were asleep."

"So you took off from the plantation? Why?"

"Herd. It was headed your way but you must have pulled out to not know about it."

"Yeah, boss man wants to head to the CDC. We were on our way there when we met in the middle."

The cogs in Shane's head whirled. "Why the CDC? There ain't nothing there."

"Boss man thinks there is. Any rate, he's making the calls, I don't much give a shit one way or the other as long as there's a loaded gun within reach, ya know what I'm sayin'?"

Shane couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, I know what you're saying. So listen man, we're headed up North, way North, to the damn Catskills Rick said, don't know where exactly in that area. Rick's a crazy fuck for thinking we can actually make that trip." Shane squeezed the button on the radio, wishing he didn't think so badly of his friend, but all he could picture was Lori and Carl shivering and starving in the dead of winter, snow piled up all around them, no fire, no shelter. The scenario was bleak and hopeless and made his body burn with anger.

"Catskills huh? Well good luck freezing your nuts off there. Unless you changed your mind and wanna come with us."

Shane paused, taking a deep breath in. He'd been thinking about it all day, every day, since he'd found the black SUV convoy. So many pros and cons, so many emotions, so much to sort through. He hated not knowing what to do, not having a course of action to follow. The crux of the matter was Lori and Carl. If they would follow him…he wouldn't have wasted two seconds. But they weren't going to leave Rick…and Rick wouldn't dare trust the people he had found. But Lori and Carl…were they ever really going to be his? Rick was back, and he damn sure wasn't gonna go down any time soon, at least not that Shane could see. He could live without them…but did he really want to? He knew he would regret it every single day of his life if he walked away from them. He loved Lori more than he had ever loved another woman before. He always had in a way, but he had kept himself at a distance when Rick was there. Rick was his best friend, and Lori…she reciprocated Rick's feelings, not his. And so he'd stood by and watched the tumultuous relationship between his best friend and Lori through so many years. He'd thought it was a mistake for them to get married so young, he'd told Rick so, but he still stood up there with him at his wedding, smile plastered to his face, trying so hard to stop himself from picturing Rick and himself trading places. And Carl…Carl was like his own son. Even before the world had ended he'd always been like a second father to the boy, and when he thought Rick was dead his mission in life had been to keep Carl safe, to make sure he survived and grew up to be a man. To make sure that he was there to protect his mother just in case Shane wasn't around anymore. Rick…Rick was so soft with him. Didn't think he could handle things like guns or death. Carl was no sissy girl, he was stronger than his father gave him credit for, and Shane knew it, and all he wanted was to show him that an adult in camp realized it. But Lori and Rick both would have none of it.

So why shouldn't he leave? Why shouldn't he join this new group? They understood the world operated on an entirely different basis now. Guns, bullets, the guts to use them, safety first, questions later. But he knew…he knew that Rick wouldn't go for it and if Rick wouldn't, Lori and Carl wouldn't either.

"Nah man. I'm stickin' here."

A cold laugh echoed over the radio. "Suit yourself. Have fun gettin' lost in a blizzard and eaten by wolves. That is of course if those undead bastards don't getcha first."

"That ain't ever gonna happen." Shane growled before switching off the radio. He knelt down by the ground and let his hands dig into the dirt, squeezing the grains as tightly as he could.

God damn it…he was probably going to get himself killed for doing this. Why…why couldn't Rick just see his way? Why did the man have to be so fucking stubborn? And why the fuck did the rest of the group have to go along with what Rick said? Ah fuck the group, he couldn't care less about most of them, all he really cared about was Lori and Carl. And so even if it killed him, he would stick by them, if only to keep them safe. Even if Lori didn't want him around, even if Rick thought he was intruding, even if the man got all pissed off and aggravated. He wouldn't let Rick's sentimental soft heart get what he loved killed.

He got up and swept the entrance to the property, stashed the two way radio under the seat in the RV again, and then took his four hour watch on the porch. It was past midnight when he finally pried himself off the uncomfortable wooden chair and went inside. He found Daryl asleep on the living room floor and Fox curled up next to him, the map rolled up and tucked underneath her arm. He nudged her booted foot with his own and her eyes snapped open, fingers curling on the handle of a dagger.

"We need to talk." He said quietly. The last thing he wanted was for Daryl to wake up and find him in a threatening position over Fox. For whatever reason the hick sure had a thing for the little punk girl and had already split his face open once over her. He didn't want a repeat experience, maybe this time with a serrated blade. Cause this time he wouldn't back down. He'd beat that redneck to death if he had to. Twice now Daryl had gotten the better of him in a fight. It wasn't going to happen again.

"We have nothing to say to each other." She growled as she uncurled herself from the blankets and stretched her limbs, slowly getting up, making sure to not wake Daryl as she did so. The man had his buck knife in his hand, fingers curled loosely over the blade even in sleep.

"Bull. We got plenty to say. Come on and let's talk outside. I ain't gonna hurt ya girl." He hissed, becoming more insistent now.

Fox kept her knife unsheathed but followed him to the porch. He tried to go further but she remained rooted to the spot, unwilling to follow him into the darkness even though the moon washed the front lawn into tones of silver.

"I have a name you know." She said harshly folding her arms across her chest.

"If you had half a shred of self respect you'd tell us your real name instead of letting that redneck hick insult you every time he wants to get your attention." Shane drawled coolly.

"Fuck you man. I'd rather have Daryl call me his bitch than you by my real name. I didn't tell anybody my name and so I accept what he calls me. I got more self respect in my little finger nail than you in your whole damn body, so shut the fuck up." Her tone was borderline on murderous and despite himself he found himself longing to pick a fight, to see if she really would tussle with him. It almost sounded like fun to him.

"Why so angry Foxy?" he said, his eyes flashing in the darkness like orange sparks kicked up from a fire. "Daryl ain't giving you what you want?"

The urge to throw her knife and imbed it straight into Shane's skull was so much that for a moment it scared her. She sheathed her dagger for his sake rather than hers and stared him down, keeping her position on the top step while he stood on the ground.

"You think I'm some nymphomaniac, I got news for you, the cut on your chest ain't healed yet, so if you keep pissing me off, I could drag you by your worthless balls to Rick and show him proof of what happened, and don't think for two fucking seconds Daryl wouldn't back me up. And that's not even the worse thing you've done this week. You would have let Beth be torn apart last night. You told us to leave her behind. I didn't think you could sink much lower but I was wrong." She hissed.

"And she died anyway! I was trying to keep the rest of us alive!" Shane snarled back. "I saw her get bit, I knew what was going to happen, I didn't want to risk the rest of our lives for a doomed girl!"

Fox curled her fingers around her knife. "I'll remember that next time you're pinned down and someone wants to come and save your ass."

Shane's expression twisted into hateful dislike. "I don't need you looking out for me."

Fox actually laughed, her face morphing into a cynical, ruthless grin. "Oh yes you do, Shane. Yes you do. Cause one run of my mouth will have all the eyes of camp staring you down for actions you can't justify. So you do need to look out for me." She stalked towards him and to his credit he held his ground which allowed her to get right into his face.

"You stay away from me. You stay away from Daryl. And you keep your mouth shut about me to the rest of the group. Or so help me fucking God, I will tell Rick what happened both that first night on the plantation and about you trying to leave Beth behind."

"You really think the group is gonna take your word over mine? Or Daryl's over mine? You got another thing coming, bitch. Daryl is the little brother of a cracked out bigoted asshole and the apple don't fall too far from the tree. And you? You snuck into our camp as a prisoner. Have those scars on your wrist healed yet?" he snatched for her wrist to try and see but she was ready for him. She jerked her arm back, shot the other out and grabbed him by the ear, pulling hard enough to make him cry out while her knee shot into his gut, causing him to double over. Her free hand fisted into his thick dark hair and jerked him around until he hit his knees and now her stiletto was pressed against his throat. Both of them were breathing heavily and he was trying to resist but she pushed the knife harder on his neck and he held still.

"I could kill you right now." She hissed. "Kill you, take one of the cars, and run. I'd have supplies enough to last me for a while, Daryl's been teaching me how to hunt. I could make it. I could be gone before anybody knew you were bleeding out all over this porch and by the time they knew, I'd be two states away. They'd never find me. So get one thing straight. Don't ever touch me. And don't ever think in however long your miserable life may last Shane that I will hesitate to defend myself."

"I don't want nothing to do with you girl." Shane rasped, the pressure on his throat making it somewhat hard to breathe.

"Good. And let it stay that way. Or I will tell Rick what happened that night. I don't know what he'll do, but I don't think you want to find out. All I want is to get the hell out of the South alive. If you get in the way of that, I'll make sure you regret it."

She let him go and pushed him away. He stepped around her carefully and went inside and she took point on the wooden chair, staring out into the darkness, watching the way every shadow twitched, looking for signs of Walkers or anything else dangerous that might be out there. It took a long time for her nerves to settle down. It wasn't nervous energy running through her, it was burning bloodlust that made even her teeth itch for a fight, something to tear apart to take her anger out on.

Part of her threat had been a bluff. Yes Daryl had been teaching her how to hunt but as it stood right now her odds of survival on her own still weren't in her favor. They were better, but not enough to warrant risking her life just yet. But in truth she wasn't planning on leaving anyway. She would if she really had to…if she thought her life was in danger. She glanced at the knife in her hands and twirled it slowly in her fingertips. Would she ask Daryl to come with her? And if she did, would he leave Rick and the group to do so?

No. She wouldn't ask it of him. She would want to, but she wouldn't. If she had to leave, for the sake of her own life, or to protect what Rick had given her, she wouldn't force Daryl to choose. Daryl needed to be with these people. They were helping him stay human in a cruel, ruthless world. He deserved a chance at a family, and these people, with all of their flaws, were exactly that. She wouldn't make him choose between her or them.

But she would do everything in her power to stay with them as long as possible. For her sake, for Daryl's, and maybe even the group's. With the exception of Shane, they were good people, and if she died for one of them…she wouldn't regret it. She had nothing else to die for in this world, and since death was just around the corner no matter where they went, she might as well prepare herself for that distinct possibility.

She kept watch through the night, singing softly to herself to keep awake. She rolled through her feelings over Daryl many times, different words and tunes, but always the same wonderful frustration and longing. It wasn't the first time she wondered if she loved him. Did she?

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Ain't gonna matter in the morning. Cobalt eyes staring me down, daring me to say what I'm really thinking." She rolled the words over her tongue, not satisfied with the forming tune but decided not to worry about it. She kept watch on the slowly lightening sky and even though she was tired, tingling anticipation curled through her. It would be good to be on the road again. It was the only place she felt at home. And it was even better now that she had Daryl to hold onto, his bike rumbling underneath her like a living thing ready to tear off into the wilds of the world.


	21. Chapter 21

**_Well my wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again! I just started my new school a couple days ago, loving it already, and it still leaves me time to write which I'm infinitely glad about. I'll just say up front this chapter is somewhat fluffy, a reprieve from some of the zombie gore we are so accustomed to in this show, but I promise it'll be back before you know it ;) Enjoy! _**

**ry123red**: _Another great chapter! I love how Fox almost kicked Shane's ass. lol. At the part where it said, "and now her stiletto was pressed against his throat." for a split second I was like, what? she's wearing high heels? haha. Anyways, I'm glad Fox would never ask Daryl to choose between her and the group. I think it's just more proof that she really cares about him. And at the very end, where Fox almost started writing a song about Daryl was so great. I'm actually really starting to like her character more as she begins to soften a little, without losing her wild, untamed streak of course. Can't wait for the next chapter!_

I'm so glad Fox is growing on you. I wrote her to be bristly and hard to like at first but as she spends more time with Daryl and the group as a whole she's starting to change. But there where always be a hard edge to her, a bite that she just can't let go of because its just who she is. And yes, a peak into Fox's mind would reveal a world seen through the eyes of a lyricist, a trait I share in common with her.

**hayleyjune13**: _Lmao, I say hot damn all the time watching the show,lol! But oh my gosh, why haven't you killed Shane yet?! :p_

Lol, I haven't killed Shane yet because he has a purpose he must fulfill. As do all the characters in this story. I recently changed up the list of people I have on the chopping block, and when they die, but of course I can't give that away, that would spoil all the fun XD

** Emberka-2012**:_ I like that Fox does not want Daryl chose between her and the group._

Well actually, there is a part of her that does want Daryl to choose between her and the group, however, she cares about him enough to not be that selfish. After the experience of her acting on her selfish impulse with Glenn, and narrowly avoiding that potential disaster, she doesn't want to risk it. Plus, she doesn't want to face the possible rejection if Daryl would choose the group over her. But deep down there is a true altruism at work, she does want what's best for Daryl and she believes it to be staying with the group.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Love that Fox went all badass on Shane, you show him girl :) I like that Fox has Daryl to relly on no matter what ;) Great chapter, Update Soon!_

Lol, I couldn't resist adding that in. Shane likes to pick fights with people, well he found one in her alright. And yes, Fox is continuing to rely on Daryl more and more although she doesn't realize it consciously yet.

**NEVSTER**: _Yet another excellent chapter. My only criticism is that you mentioned T-Dog at the parking lot section when he'd been engulfed by that crowd of Walkers at the plantation. HE CAME BACK TO LIFE. REAL life, NOT Walker life, haha xD I DID say in my chapter 17 review that I wanted people to hate Fox, including Daryl, after those events. However, you've flipped my mind round as you do so very often (how naughty!). I really want to see some friendship form between Maggie and Fox, it would be nice to see her not restrict herself to Daryl at times. There seemed to be a connection between them in the RV when Fox looked into her eyes. It makes me believe that one or two friendships are beginning to branch off of this root. I love the hate between Fox and Shane. I hated Shane myself when he was alive in the TV series - let the Walkers have him! It would be awesome to see a big event involving Shane occur, perhaps with the SUV convoy he discovered. When he's in danger (hopefully resulting in death because I'm evil and I DO NOT LIKE HIM). Or he could disappear and nobody would know... I'll hide the evidence myself! Finally, it's a great idea to go up North, a decision that I don't think is mentioned in the TV series. I love how you make it different to the comics and series, only adding in a few key pieces of information - any resemblance is purely coincidental. I've not yet found another Fic to read while I'm eagerly anticipating the next chapter of yours that is as good as yours. I've become so attached to the characters, especially Fox, that it feels weird to go onto a different OC including Fic. We can see your writing journey go along with the group's journey - there are improvements every time. You should be proud, very proud. Do excuse my awfully long review, and one last question. How did the herd find the plantation? Did Shane lead them there on purpose? Because it seemed like he tried to lure them there when the rest of the group were vulnerable and he could make a quick getaway. Hmm..._

Lol, editing fail! I thought I had caught all of those little errors but no one is infallible. And I'm glad I was able to change your mind about Fox, to me that really helps me believe my writing skills are sharp and effective at what I want to convey and have my audience feel, so thank you for telling me that! And that was a wonderful suggestion you made about having Fox hopefully make friends with other people in the camp besides Daryl. That thought really hadn't actually occurred to me and I assumed it would happen naturally over time, but then I realized Fox is perfectly comfortable with just one person, and she would have to force herself to try and be friends with someone else, which she actually needs to do, so if something should ever go wrong with her and Daryl's relationship, she has more roots to help anchor her to the group because with her, there is always that fear that she is an outsider and will be kicked out. As far as Shane's potential demise…am I the only one who feels slightly bad for the guy? I could understand why, he was rather evil in the show (I hated how he threatened Dale and went behind Rick's back when it came to Lori and Carl) but I can kind of see where he is coming from, at least in some things. I'm so glad I can keep you wanting more, it means a lot to me as a writer to think that my readers are eagerly anticipating my next posting. You shower me with such wonderful reviews, I feel so jealous, and just a little bad for all the other writers out there who don't get such amazing messages in their inboxes every few days, so please, feel free to write as much as you want! I love long reviews! As far as the herd finding the plantation, Shane didn't lead them there, at least not on purpose. They were attracted to the multiple fires from the SUV convoy group, but by the time they arrived Shane and the group had gone their separate ways, but they saw Shane heading back, and Shane saw them and ran for it to hopefully get to the plantation in time to warn the others. Shane, for all of his flaws, wouldn't put Lori or Carl in danger if he could help it.

**Emerald Gaze**: _well if rick isn't gonna call the dog to heel i guess fox'll have to teach that dog a new trick i liked that you mentioned that daryl slept with the knife still in his hand... though he hasn't been using it very much. i suppose he uses it more in hunting. i also liked that the kids voted and were counted i hope to see more of them 'pulling their weight' so to say. also andrea being brought back from his suicide contemplation by maggie losing her sister and staying strong. now there is someone that knows knows exactly what she's going through and they're still managing to stay strong so she really doesn't have much of an excuse now. i have to say i've never really liked andrea and that applies here as well, really it's either her or lori, but mostly her, that just inspires hate from people. with winter coming daryl and fox will have the perfect excuse to be all cuddled up later, need for warmth and all !_

And Fox is more than willing to teach that bad dog a new thing or two. I could definitely see Daryl sleeping with his knife in his hand. Its a fast, convenient weapon. I was very surprised that he continued to use the crossbow in the series because while it is quieter than a gun, it takes a long time to re-load and the bolts for it are hard to come by. But nonetheless he continues to use it effectively, so I keep it in the story. And as far as Andrea is concerned, I continue to toggle between disliking her and liking her. I like the fact that she is willing to fight for what she wants and that she doesn't want to be a victim, but how she continues to go about is not such a good thing. And yes, cold weather has a wonderful way of bringing people together ;)

** X23 Maximoff**:_ Oooooooh my lanta. Love. Love everything that's happened since I last had a chance to review. The characterization. The mix up between Shane and the other group. The overrunning by the herd. Fox. Daryl. Feels. I wish I could write you the million word review that you deserve, but I'm too overwhelmed by everything I just read to accurately describe how much I enjoy this story. Please update soon! -XM_

Awwww, I'm glad to see you back again anyhow! Feel free to write me as much as you want if and when you find your words, meanwhile I will continue to look forward to your reviews as always, and I hope I can continue to keep you drawn in =)

* * *

"Hey, time to get up."

Fox's husky voice was soft and blurry in his ear as Daryl's eyes slowly worked their way open. Instinctively his fingers tightened on his knife to make sure it was still there but when his eyes adjusted and he saw Fox crouched down next to him he eased his grip and began to pry himself off the floor.

"Did you sleep at all?" he asked rubbing crust out of his eyes wishing like hell for some coffee or a cold shower.

"Just until Shane came back from watch. I'm ok though, I'm used to running on only a couple hours."

"The trade off go ok?" he asked her as he wormed his way out from his sleeping bag and began to roll it up.

She nodded. "Yeah, it was fine. Shane and I had a little chat." She twirled her dagger between her fingers and he noted the way the blade and her eyes had the same cool glint to them. His gaze darkened and so did hers, but that glint was still there and he knew it was more than what she said.

"Do I want to know?" he asked as he began to roll his sleeping bag up, his wrists and spine cracking a little as he stretched and flexed the stiffened joints.

She shrugged. "It was a lot less than he deserved. Don't worry. I'm fine. I can handle myself with him. I know better now."

He resisted the urge to argue with her. She was fine. If she wasn't…if something had happened, he would have woken up. He took a deep breath in and nodded and she gave him a thin smile, folding up the blankets she had used last night and following him outside to the RV where they stashed them in one of the cupboards, stuffing and pushing to get it all to fit. When they came back to the house Fox unrolled the map and sat down on the floor again to study it one last time, but she also rummaged in her bag for a comb and began to work through the tangles in the strands.

"Will your hair turn pink eventually?" he asked as he watched her work, her eyes continually focused on the map.

She sighed slightly. "Sooner than later. Look at this." She said, lifting up the ends by her chest and examining them, which were indeed almost a magenta pink color. There was only a small vestige of red left on the top of her head, broken up by dark brown roots. "Disgraceful." She lightly teased herself, but he could see the way her eyes crinkled slightly at the edges.

"Why's it so important to you?" It wasn't accusatory, he really was just curious. It was just hair after all, it wasn't like it made that much of a difference.

She shrugged her shoulders again. "I guess it shouldn't be, considering the world as we knew it no longer exists. But when it was around…the way I looked helped me feel stronger. Tougher. If I could look like a bad-ass rock star, it made it easier for me to act like one when the time came." She ran the comb through the strands again, looking back down at the map. "I got out of some sticky situations just bluffing."

She set the comb aside and pulled her hair around front and began to fashion it in a braid, the shorter layers unable to reach into the main mass, still framing her face. When finished she pulled a hair band out from her bag and tied it tightly.

"I was never so good at bluffing." He admitted quietly. "I'd rather just make that son of a bitch sorry he tried to mess with me."

Her lips twitched into a thin smirk. "Yeah, I can see that." She said. She let her fingertips trace a small scar on his arm and his skin tingled pleasantly at the contact. "But when you got your little sister huddled at your legs and your mom's drunk off her ass and you really just need to get home, you'd rather not try and scrap, you know what I mean?"

He nodded. He wondered if Merle had ever felt like that sometimes- trying to be responsible for both their father and his little brother. He wondered too if maybe that was part of what had driven Merle to smoke mind altering chemicals like a chimney and take off with sluts for days at a time.

They heard movement upstairs and also coming from the back end of the hall and Fox arched one eyebrow at him. "Couldn't have hoped for much more." She said before rolling up the map. He knew what she meant. She'd been hoping for more time alone. In an uncharacteristic movement he let his shoulder gently lean against hers.

"Sooner we get going the better." He told her. She nodded and tried to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear but it was still too short. She let it fall like a halo over her forehead and eyes and was reminded of how long his own hair was starting to get. Before too much longer he'd need to at least get it trimmed, if only to keep it out of his eyes. He had no idea how Fox could deal with her bangs constantly half in and half out of her vision.

Just then the back bedroom doors creaked open and Maggie and Glenn appeared. The next to appear were Carol and Sophia, one by one everyone slowly emerged rubbing sleep out of their eyes, stretching sore muscles and pushing less than clean hair out of their faces as they waited for Rick to see whether he would allow for breakfast.

"I know we're all hungry." He started, his voice raspy from probably having just woken up. His eyes swept over the group's disappointed faces but he held firm anyway. Daryl's stomach growled but he didn't try to argue with the man. What food they had needed to be conserved as much as possible. They had no idea what they might find in the days to come.

"But we're back on strict rations. As we travel we'll scavenge along the way, but we have to be careful with the supplies we have. Winter will be here before we know it. So for now we have to just muscle through."

"I still think this whole thing is a mistake." Shane said, leaning up against one of the walls, his pistol visibly tucked into the front of his pants. Fox pointedly didn't look at him and unsheathed one of her little knives, spinning it in her fingers. Daryl kept his gaze focused on both Rick and Shane, watching and gaging both men's reactions.

Rick for his part seemed calm but there was an unyielding grate of authority when he answered. "The group voted, majority wins Shane. The sooner we get underway the sooner we get to our final destination. Fox, did you memorize the route we're taking towards Camden?" He turned towards the redhead who looked up from her knife.

"Yeah. Along with two alternates in case something is impassible or dangerous. The back road we're on will be longer, but it's the safest bet we've got. We want the fuel to last, so nobody drive cruise control and hover at between fifty-five and sixty mph. That will get the most mileage out of all the vehicles, even the RV."

"Where'd you learn this stuff?" Lori asked as she swept tired fingers through her tangled hair.

"I grew up on the road. One learns these things when your income consists of change pulled from mall fountains and you have to travel on the cheap." Fox responded. There was no trace of sharpness in her tone but Lori's eyes were still surprised. Fox just grinned and while Daryl recognized it as a self-satisfied smirk, he could tell Lori was unsettled.

They all finished packing up in a hurry and Daryl kicked his bike to life, appreciating the warmth of the motor and the growl of the engine as the machine hummed underneath him. The cool misty morning air helped to make him feel more awake and when Fox swung up behind him he was grateful for her presence.

She navigated them the whole day, crossing state lines into South Carolina (which just by looking at the country side you'd never be able to tell the difference between the two states) and continuing up north, occasionally veering off their lonely back road in order to clear a tangle of abandoned cars. Walkers growled and snarled and moved their undead bodies for the first time in maybe weeks as the convoy blew past, leaving them in the dusty heat of the highway before continuing on northwards until Fox finally signaled for them to stop in a small parking lot next to an electric transformer surrounded by a cluster of trees. Up ahead was finally an end in sight to the endless rows of pine trees and scattered street signs. It was the convergence of a highway and the interstate, along with where they were going to scrounge for gasoline and food if possible.

"Its right up the road, half a mile at most." Fox said when they gathered around the hood of one of the trucks. She had the map laid out again, pointing to the small dot on the map that indicated their stop. "I can't tell from this the layout, but knowing the south, there will be a string of buildings and one major parking lot. The onramp to the interstate is towards the west, east will be our highway that will continue to swing north. I've been in Camden before, there are old plantation houses that might be abandoned, but honestly, this area is probably crawling with Walkers. I think we'd be better off refueling and just driving through the night."

"We gotta sleep sometime." Shane muttered. He'd been doing most of the driving throughout the day and even though Fox bristled inwardly at his words, she had to agree with his statement. The only thing keeping her awake right now was the perpetual wind from the speed of the bike.

"I think she's right." Carol said, wrapping her arms around herself, rubbing her palms against her bare arms. Sophia stuck close to her mother, and to Carl. Lori was within arm's reach of her son while Rick stood opposite them, staring down at the map carefully.

"Is there any place safe we might be able to sleep in this area? Within say an hour of driving distance?" It was Glenn now and if anybody really looked haggard besides Rick, it was him. Daryl could understand, he was a like a rabbit on speed thanks to his nervous energy.

Fox ran a tired hand through her hair. "There's no telling what might be on our road. Again knowing the South there's probably homes along this path but how far apart they might be or the number of Walkers that might be in the area, there's just no way to know. I can stay awake as long as the rest of you so don't worry about that. If we keep going on the road we've been on, it will take us up through North Carolina into the mountains. I guarantee you it will be more isolated there, safer for us to stop. It's like the quarry outside Atlanta. Safe, but we can't stay there permanently."

"Alright, that's where we make for. We stay on our current road and drive until we find somewhere suitable for us. At our current pace we should reach Appalachia by tomorrow evening. No one drives alone to make sure that whoever is driving doesn't fall asleep. Honk your horn once if you need to change drivers. For now we go get gas if there is any and supplies from the rest stop up ahead."

They all saddled up again but Daryl watched with curiosity when Andrea didn't get back into the RV with Dale, instead climbing into the Jeep with Shane. She pacified the old man with a few terse words which left him all but shaking his head at her. He went back into the RV with Carol and Sophia and Daryl made for his bike.

"I wondered how long it would take." Fox mused as she climbed back onto the motorcycle.

"They're just sharing a car." Daryl muttered.

"Bet you five bucks within a week and a half they'll be fucking each other's brains out in said car."

Daryl looked over his shoulder and smirked at her. "Two cups worth of the hidden stash of coffee you got in your bag and you got a bet."

She looked at him pretending to be offended, as if he had been going through her bag. In truth he hadn't gone through her things, on their last pit stop he'd seen her take a pinch of the powder out of its plastic bag and tuck it between her cheek and gum and chewed it like tobacco to extract some of the caffeine without water. He had shared his bike, and his bed, for almost the past month; she could give him some coffee in return.

"You're on."

* * *

The next entire week of travel went relatively smooth, only one or two close calls with Walkers as they darted from place to place to catch a few hours of sleep or to scarf something out of a can before hitting the road again. The air was starting to get colder the further North they moved and now that they were towards the northern portion of Virginia, Rick had decided it was time they find cold weather supplies. They'd stolen another map on their last stop, Fox still doing the vast majority of their navigating. Daryl worried about her a little, going on so little sleep, pulling on her hair to help keep her awake or biting at her lips, flexing her fingers restlessly. But she would just fix him with an amused stare and shrug off his concern.

"Right there!" Rick hissed as they huddled behind their vehicles outside of a strip mall, the only place in this small town they were likely to find the cold weather supplies. They were on a larger than average supply run and so they'd risked bringing their vehicles all the way into the parking lot itself. Lori, Carl, Sophia, Carol, and Dale were either in the RV or on its roof keeping watch, covering the others as they slowly began to creep around the vehicles towards the building.

A small horde of Walkers were milling in the parking lot, stumbling and staggering, old crusted blood smearing their faces, tattered clothes barely hanging on as grey skin peeled back and stretched in completely wrong ways as their jaws gnashed lazily.

"Kill them. Then we go inside. Fan out, if you run into trouble, don't be afraid to use your gun. But as soon as you do, run for the vehicles." Rick ordered. They all gave the man a sharp nod before gliding to their feet and heading for the mob.

Daryl stuck close to Fox as he took his buck knife and put it to good use, cracking skulls and stabbing it through the bone. They'd learned by now that the older a Walker was, the easier it was to kill. Without a regular supply of calcium their bones went soft and so stabbing through the skull wasn't as hard as it would have been on someone who was alive. If the body was relatively fresh, under the jaw or in the ear was the easiest point of entry. Fox usually just made short work of the bodies and whacked their heads clean off, ruthlessly efficient with her kukri knives. But she still used her little ones to throw as she demonstrated in this particular moment, slinging one with deadly accuracy and taking out a Walker that had just been about to sneak up on Andrea. The red-head jogged forward to retrieve her knife while Andrea pressed forward and the rest of the group took out the remaining Walkers in the parking lot. No more seemed drawn by the relatively quiet sound of the wholesale slaughter

They fanned out and took different stores of the strip mall, Fox, Daryl, and Andrea heading into a general store to gather any food or bottled water that was available.

"I'll check the stock room in the back and see what they have." Fox said before taking off that way while Daryl and Andrea scoured the front room for anything of use. They were picking through the isles when Daryl noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There were bottles and boxes of hair dye on the shelves, almost entirely untouched from the rest of the store which had already been somewhat picked over, likely by any survivors trying to flee town. He glanced around to make sure Fox was still in the back before he started rifling through them, seeing if there were any shades close to what she had when they first met.

"Looking for something specific?"

Daryl whipped around at the sound of Andrea's soft voice. He tried to get a response past his throat before she snickered with soft laughter but he was too late. He was about to tell her to shut the hell up when she deftly picked up a bottle of hair dye at the very bottom of the shelf, almost identical to the color Fox used to have.

"Never thought I'd see Daryl Dixon getting presents for someone else. Need wrapping paper and a bow too?" she teased lightly.

"Oh shut up Blondie, your roots are showing." He growled, taking the bottle from her and grabbing the last one just in case before stuffing it into the bottom of his bag. Andrea sighed but with quiet laughter as she tucked a few blonde strands behind her ear.

"It's sweet of you." She told him more seriously now. "Never thought I'd say that about you either."

"Yeah well, don't let on. I want it to be a surprise." He admitted grudgingly as they moved to other parts of the store.

She stared at him momentarily with surprise plastered to her face as the meaning of what he said sunk in. "I thought you were talking about the group as a whole. You really do care about her, don't you?"

He stopped and stared at her. "What clued you in Blondie?" he asked, as cynically and sarcastically as he could. Maybe he was being a little bit more open with his emotions but that didn't mean he was entirely comfortable with the whole group seeing. Not that it was going to stop him though.

"You don't even notice the rest of the group staring, just as long as she's happy. Just like the night at the plantation, after the herd. You held her hand in front of everybody, just to make her smile." Her blue eyes softened and she really smiled for the first time in so long Daryl had almost forgotten what it looked like on her face.

"It's good." She reiterated. "For you, for her, and for the rest of us." She went to go down another isle as Daryl started loading up on the canned goods. Daryl watched her step away out of sight and he had to wonder who else was thinking that him and Fox were something else except friends. It didn't really matter though, did it? The group either thought they were already sleeping together, or were headed down that road. At night at whatever shelter they could find Fox always stayed close to him and Daryl had started taking her shift during watch so she could sleep. It was almost ridiculous how sentimental…how soft…he was getting when it came to her. The hair dye in his bag was just more evidence to that claim.

_Fuck it, Daryl. Who's around to call you a pussy? Ain't nothing you can do about it till they say it to your face, and even Shane's not that stupid._

Just then Fox came from around the back and he could see her bag was weighed down heavily. Her green eyes lit up as soon as she saw Daryl and she came over to him and showed him her loot.

"Medicine!" she said happily. "It's all over the counter but it's better than what we've found so far. Got some bandages and some canned food too. They even had rice, Glenn will be pleased." She said as she shouldered her bag again. "You guys find anything?"

"Yeah, more food, a few bottles of water." Andrea piped up. "More fishing twine, good thing too, we were getting low." She said with a fast glance at Daryl. "I'm gonna go put this in the RV and then go help the others." And with that she darted out the door. Fox quirked an eyebrow at Daryl who just shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't going to try and explain Andrea's sudden absence.

Fox double checked over the store to see if they had anything else worth taking and inevitably found the isle with the hair dye. She immediately began to paw through the boxes in an almost hungry fashion, searching for her shade. Daryl's eyes darted to the bottom shelf where hers had been and was thankful that he'd taken the last two bottles, leaving none there.

"Damn it. Why is blood red so hard to find?" she growled as she put a bottle of pink back with a snort of contempt.

Daryl shrugged. "Maybe cause the rest of the world don't want their skull to look like it's bleeding all the time." He baited

She rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. "Screw you preacher's-pride-and-joy." She teased. She'd started calling him that every time he made a crack about her hair or her piercings. At first he hadn't realized she wasn't serious but now it was almost always the start of a playful wrestling match between the two. He wanted to spare a few minutes and wrangle her into submission until she huffed laughter and begged for mercy but out of the corner of his eye he could see Walkers drifting into the parking lot and he knew now wasn't the time.

They hurried back to the RV and put their loot inside and then went to assist Rick and Shane carrying out heavy duty tents, sleeping bags, and thermal blankets from a sporting good store.

"Guys, we better hurry!" Glenn all but whined as the Walkers started getting dangerously close.

"Fox, would you handle that?" Rick asked as he and Shane held one of the tents while Daryl ripped their thinner summer ones free of the back of the RV and tossed them into the parking lot to make room.

"I'm on it." The woman affirmed. She unsheathed her kukri knives and jogged towards the incoming mob. They began to spit and hiss and stretch their rotting arms out towards her and she employed the same strategy she'd been perfecting on the road. She would get close enough to one to lure it free of the group, skip backwards, slice it's head free, and then dart to the side to cull yet another member loose, going around and around in a circle until they were all dead or it was time to go. In this instance she just kept going until they were all dead.

"Rick, we need to move it!" Dale called from the roof of the RV, peering through his binoculars.

"What do you see?" the sheriff panted as he and Shane stuffed in the tents while Glenn passed some of the jackets, pairs of pants and other more winter appropriate clothes to Lori and Carol who found places for them to fit or took them to other cars.

"A herd, heading straight for us." The old man answered as he let the binoculars fall to his chest.

"Everybody head north, if you run low on gasoline we'll tap the drum. Let's go!" Rick barked as the herd in the distance became visible, about half a block away from their parking lot.

Daryl and Fox jogged towards the bike after stashing their bags in one of the other cars. He kicked the engine to life and threaded his way around the bodies to the head of the convoy, weaving between staggering Walkers on the street before gunning the engine and peeling back onto the highway.

Three days later they had made camp at a bed and breakfast designed for hikers exploring the upper reaches of Appalachia. It even had a generator and with a little bit of help from Dale's handy tool kit he'd been able to get it running. They'd cleared out the Walkers and everyone was reveling in the hot water even if their stomachs were growling because Rick still had them on strict rations. They intended to stay here for a few days to allow Daryl the chance to hunt and hopefully at least bring back some squirrels since all they'd been eating for protein the last week and a half was a salty cud of beef jerky and cold beans out of their can. He and Fox were in the room they were sharing when he heard Carol outside his door.

"Shower's free if you want it." She called before padding back down the hall and downstairs where the rest of the group was lounging.

"Me first, and I don't care if it strips every last drop of red dye out of my hair, I'm washing with hot water." Fox said, all but leaping off the bed and heading for the door.

"Hey, wait a second." Daryl called before she could leave. She turned and gave him a questioning look but reacted instantly when he tossed her one of the bottles of red dye he'd taken from the store in Virginia. She caught it easily and started to say something but the words died in her throat as she slowly recognized what was in her hand.

"Where…how did you get this?" she whispered staring up at him with a mixture of confusion and amazement.

He found himself smiling as he halfway met her eyes before shrugging his shoulders. "Virginia." He answered quietly.

Her brow furrowed for a moment before she looked back up at him. She set the bottle down on the dresser right by the door and approached him from where he was unrolling some of his clothes from the satchel and pulled his hands away from what he was doing. She looked up at him and he swore her eyes were misty.

"Thank you." She murmured. "You didn't have to do this."

He shrugged his shoulders, almost uncomfortable at the gratitude. "It was right there." He answered, trying to step out of the beacon of limelight she was trying to shine down on him.

"That's what I mean." She said, wiping away a single solitary tear. "You didn't have to do this. You didn't have to make it a surprise for me. You didn't have to make it mean something more than what it is. It's so simple, almost stupid. But it means something to me and knew that. Not very many people in my life have done something like this for me."

He dared to thread his fingers into her messy hair and palm her cheek with his other hand. He wanted to say something, something that would make sense and would feel right but there were just no words. So he tried something different for once. He leaned down and kissed her gently, not realizing how badly he had missed her touch until the moment he felt his lips on hers. Inside his mind he heard humming guitar strings, husky chuffs of laughter, and saw eyes of emerald green staring up at him. Pale skin and scarlet hair, smooth muscle and lithe bones. He smelled a tinge of smoke and wind, grass and moonflower blossoms. She was everything he had never even known he'd wanted until it fell from the sky and into his hands. And for once, for once in his damn life, thoughts about his father and his brother didn't ruin the moment. They would come to haunt him later but for now, while he kissed her and held her face gently in his hands, they were gone, and they couldn't take this away from him. Her lips were soft and just a little chapped, and for the first time she yielded to him, letting him explore her mouth at his leisure. She tasted like the sunbaked highways and dusty wind, the amber heat of a setting Southern sun in late summer. He could have stayed there his whole life with her, and if a Walker or a stray bullet got him, he wouldn't have regretted anything. Never in his life had he felt so lucky and so…_happy. _This wasn't like the alcohol haze of dizzy giddiness back at the first night on the plantation. This was something so much deeper he thought it might drag him under and never let him go, and he wouldn't have fought it even if he could have. He didn't want to anymore.

When he finally let her go so he could take down a much needed breath of air she didn't pull away far, just to let her forehead rest against his. "How do you keep doing this to me?" she whispered softly, not quite looking up at him.

"You ain't ever met a man like me before." His voice was rough but that was just who he was. He'd never have a silver tongue or a voice to make butter melt but it was perfect to her.

"Ain't that the truth." She breathed before gently slipping out of his grip. "I'm gonna go enjoy my present." A flash of a grin crossed her face and for some reason another flush of almost shy heat crept up the back of his neck. She grabbed the bottle off the dresser and all but skipped into the bathroom. As he watched her go he thought again about what Andrea had said to him at the store.

"_You don't even notice the rest of the group staring, just as long as she's happy." _

Well it seemed to be working out for him, not noticing if anybody else was staring, so why bother starting now?

After about thirty minutes Fox returned, her hair tied up in a messy knot at the back of her head and contained in a hair net she must have found in the bathroom. "Now to let it sit for as long as humanly possible and then to rinse. It won't cover my roots but everything else will be red again." She smiled at him once more and he followed her downstairs where the other group members were talking quietly, eating their meager rations. Fox had their new map in her hands and she pointedly unrolled it on the table that most of the group was gathered around.

"Your hair is red." Carl commented as he watched her toss some coasters on the corners of the map to keep it held down.

"Why yes it is." Fox said with a quick glance at Daryl. "We found some dye in Virginia when we were at that strip mall. I was just waiting for a chance to use it." She left it ambiguous as to who had gotten it but Daryl saw Andrea's blue eyes glint subtly, the corner of her lips twitching up, but she kept silent and he was silently thankful.

"How long before we reach the Catskills?" Rick asked as he surveyed the map with Fox.

"At the rate we've been going, we should be there within the week. Then we just have to find a valley that's suitable for our needs. The roads are going to start getting rough so we won't be able to travel as fast with the RV, but other than that we should be fine. There's plenty of fresh water and game to hunt all around this area. As long as we stick to the mountains there shouldn't be any Walkers, not this far away from the cities. Getting the RV to any valley we find will be a challenge, but we'll have time to work it out." She sounded happier than she had been in since staying on the plantation and Daryl was glad for it. By now the confused voice that rose up when he empathized with someone else had become barely a whisper. Merle wouldn't have agreed but he accepted it, at least to himself.

"There's always towns at the base of the mountain though. The people there are all Walkers by now, they could come up the hill, just like they did with the quarry in Atlanta." Shane muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Lori glanced at him with worried eyes and Daryl watched as Carol let her knee brush against Sophia's.

"Once we get settled in, we could make runs into the town and clear it out, block by block, just like they do in hostile towns behind enemy lines in the military." Rick answered. "We have the bullets and the knives to handle it, as long as we're careful. Once we learn the area and we're accustomed to the terrain with the vehicles, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to clear any surrounding areas. Especially if we intend to stay there permanently."

Fox rolled up the map and Rick leaned back onto the sofa where he had Lori under his arm. By now they could see the slight beginnings of a baby bump on her belly. Rick kissed her hair softly while she leaned into his chest. Shane looked on with a longing, almost sad light in his eye and for a split second Fox almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

Eventually the group broke up, each gravitating to either their own room after Rick assigned shifts for watch. Dale first, then himself. Daryl and Fox disappeared upstairs to the room they had claimed but not before Fox darted outside and retrieved the guitar that she had kept stashed in the RV under the bed. There had been any time for her to play it since they'd left the plantation and he knew she'd been itching for a chance. He kicked off his boots and stretched out on the bed, one knee raised while he alternated between watching her and the ceiling, mentally tracing lazy patterns in the spackle while she began to play a soft tune. She played for hours, soft and slow until at last he was lulled to the first contented sleep he'd had in weeks. He was woken only when she came back to bed, her hair freshly washed smelling like cherries and the cheap shampoo they'd scavenged along the way.

"What are you doing?" he asked lazily as she wormed her way under the covers, getting very close to him.

"It's cold." She spoke as though this fact was achingly obvious. "And you're warm." Softer now as she buried herself in his chest, uncaring at the startled mumble he gave. This was by far as close as she'd ever been to him when they lay in bed, all but lying on top of him. Before he would have tried to push her away, or just gone and bunked on the floor or the couch, but now…now he didn't mind it so much. He liked it even. He dared to run his fingers through her hair, coaxing her to sleep for once rather than the other way around.

When he woke it was because she was stirring against his chest. Some how they'd ended up even closer in the night, one of her legs tangled in-between his thighs, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and chest, her face buried in the hollow where his neck met his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and when they met at first the emerald green was the only thing his brain registered. The light in the room was a washed out haze of blue and grey and he knew had he not had her next to him it would have been a little bit cold but as it was he was warm and content.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked him, her eyes fighting to stay open.

He ran his fingers through her hair. "Define dreaming." He rasped.

"A fresh cup of coffee from my stash?"

He smirked as she wriggled away from him and set her feet on the floor to pad to her bag to retrieve the precious grounds. "Definitely dreaming." He said. He watched the way her hair tumbled around her shoulders and face as she dug through her back, the strands back to a bright, burning red, even in the foggy hazy of the oncoming grey sunrise.

_Definitely dreaming… _


	22. Chapter 22

**_Well my wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again! As we all know, the good times never last long in The Walking Dead, so let's get this show on the road, shall we? Enjoy!_**

**X23 Maximoff**: _DAAAAAWWWWW they're so cute! And by cute I mean rugged and chiseled and handsome and great (She's the Man, yea?...yea?). But seriously, I about died (pun slightly intended) when Daryl got her the hair color. He's so detail oriented, and I feel like you really showcase that side of him very well. I mean, really - of all the things he could have looked for in the store, hair dye? Yes. Love him. I really hope things work out well for these chaps in the mountains. I mean, I know life can't be perfect cause there's no plot without conflict, but...I dunno. Things are just so nice between everyone right now, even Shane and Fox made a sort of peace treaty where they just stay out of each other's way...gah, it's not going to last, is it? Damn. Wonderful chapter, can't wait to see what you cook up next! -XM_

I really wanted to have one moment of fluffy reprieve for these guys, because they've run so hard and for so long and they really do deserve it; not just Daryl and Fox, but the group as well. They all need things to remind them that they're still human and that they haven't regressed into some primitive, animal state. I can see that happening to Rick in the third season of the show- he's morphing into some kind of creature that's just barely human. I really hope he can pull himself out of it, because as bad-ass as he's becoming, what made him so great was that even though he was ruthless with his gun, he was still human, and his hand still shook with indecision and regret as he lowered it. He's almost becoming like Shane…and that's a scary thought. And of course the peace cannot last, it can never last. I have so much planned, and it's all picking up speed within the next few chapters. Some of the mysteries will unravel, some will only go deeper, and everything will become more tangled and twisted than ever before. I can't wait to show it to all of you!

**FanFicGirl10**:_ Awww love it. Fluffy moments between Fox & Daryl, Perfect :) Update Soon!_

Indeed, sweet, marshmallowy fluff! Daryl isn't given to it much, but after meticulously picking over all of the episodes available to me, I figured that he'd show a little bit of softness if he really cared about someone ;)

**Nelle07**: _I am a new reader and I have to say I love this story! I cannot wait to find out more about the SUV! And more about Daryl and Fox of course!_

Well hello there new reviewer, nice of you to drop in! Oh yes, the SUV convoy Shane found, they'll be back very, very soon, and more questions will be asked ;) And of course Daryl and Fox will have to figure out how to handle everything that's going to happen and try to stay sane while doing so, that'll be one heck of a challenge in and of itself.

**Emberka-2012**: _Daryl so caring - even during the apocalypse has found time make the girl a gift._

Yes indeed. He doesn't really know how to express his feelings very well, but when he does, he makes sure that it counts =)

**hayleyjune13**: _Haha, I know! But aww, so cute. :)_

Yes indeed. I wanted at least one or two moments of sweet fluff between them because otherwise their relationship would be born of fearful need of losing not just each other but humanity as a whole. Having a bit of a normal moment, gift giving as it were, helps ground their relationship in something other than two people struggling to survive.

**Guest1019**: _Love this! It's so easy to make a Daryl/OC story so one dimensional but this is just amazing. I love that it's mostly Daryl's pov. Fantastic job on the characters, especially Fox. You've managed to develop them while still staying true to their character and personality. You should seriously consider writing professionally if you haven't already. Stories like this one would be worth every penny! Update soon please!_

Well thank you much for your kind words! No matter how many reviews I end up getting on any piece of work, I love to hear each and every one because I value all the opinions of my readers. It is a dream of mine to be a professional writer although that's not what I am in school for at the moment, but when I'm done with my degree I'd love to pursue it as a side career perhaps.

**Emerald Gaze**: _awwwwww the hair dye and the cuddling! how cute! also for a moment there andrea didn't suck so much and daryl used this knife more than his crossbow i feel like everything i mentioned happened in this chap. i just realized that they still have the potential to come across the jail since the show actually skipped the winter so now i'm all super curious if that'll happen even if they have left the south._

Lol, I'm glad I was able to give Andrea a few redeeming minutes of screen time. Despite all of her poor choices, there is something about her that I really like and so if I can redeem her to those who don't, it makes me warm inside. And of course, sweet fluffy moments with Daryl and Fox don't hurt ;) I think as the show has been progressing Daryl is relying more on his knife mostly just because it's so much faster than the bow. The bow is good for hunting, but not so much in a battle. In a battle, it's only advantage is that it's quieter than a gun. In 'Chupacabra' they showed just how long it takes to reload it- far too long to be of much use in a tight corner. I was very surprised that they skipped the winter in the show because I figured the cold could bring about a whole new set of challenges. And yes, the prison. It's such an amazing location for the show because even though its safe, it's like a maze and you never know what's around the corner, even as they try to clear it out and keep it contained. Perhaps they will come across something similar in my story ;)

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**:_ I looooooooovvvveeeee this chapter! What Daryl did (the hair dye) was adorable! I really like how you are developing their relationship and also how you are developing the other characters indirectly, like with Fox noticing Shane's longing gaze. Can't wait for the next chapter!_

It's a hard line to walk as I try to deepen Daryl and Fox's relationship because neither of them are totally comfortable with emotions and so I try to find the right amount for them to both show in their respective ways. Having watched the third season has helped explore that more because Daryl's gotten to have a few touchy moments that I really liked, and Fox as my OC I have a little bit more freedom with. And yes, I almost feel bad for Shane, because the suspicion growing in his mind that it's his baby, not Rick's, and he really does want to protect and care for Lori and Carl but he just goes about it all the wrong ways. It's tragic almost.

**Sacred-Heart**: _finaly daryl starts warming up! i mean jeeze, it took him long enough! overall this was a really mellow chapter, considering the previous ones._

Well hello there, thanks for dropping in! And yes, Daryl is starting to get more comfortable this new situation he finds himself in with Fox. It did take him long enough but given the reality of their situation, his past, and Fox's, all scrambled together, I didn't want to rush anything too soon. I did want a mellow moment for everybody to breathe…for everybody to think their safe. Trouble's never far away in this world…

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Finally caught up...you know, I've struggled with this story. It's SO well written but I couldn't stand Fox! During chapter 13 when she slept with Glenn I was like 'I am done with this' but something told me to keep going...and I'm glad I did. I actually LIKE her now! I love how Daryl is making her wait. What's his reasoning? Because she slept with Glenn? Because he feels inadequate? Because she told him her views on sex? And speaking of...PLEASE let them have sex soon. The tension is UNBEARABLE! - a new loyal addicted follower_

Fox definitely is a person who can get under your skin in a bad way, and I wrote her that way on purpose. I've read so many stories and books where there is a difficult character, but they always fold too soon, if they were really that stubborn, really that damaged, it would take longer for them to soften and become less of a pain in the ass. So that was part of my reasoning when writing Fox. Daryl's reasoning is a combo of many different things, one being pure nervousness because Norman Reedus has said he's playing Daryl as a virgin, and so I'm writing him as one too, so he has no idea what he's doing really, and Fox is so physically aggressive, it'd be enough to make even someone like Daryl shaky. And Daryl is afraid to be so attached to Fox, even now, after all this time, because he knows how vulnerable they all really are, and he knows how slippery the slope to insanity can be, and he worries if he gives himself over to Fox, he'll lose what remains of his emotional independence, because the only kind of love or relationship he knows is what he learned from his father and his brother, which was a very harsh give and take, emphasis heavily on the take. Another reason is simply to drive Fox crazy, because ever since they met she's had him tied to her crazy train, and so part of this is pay-back. Daryl isn't above fighting dirty if he has to to get his point across. I'm so pleased that you wrote in, I look forward to hearing from you again!

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Why, hello do you even rember me? It's been a while hasn't it now I'd like explain myself even though its probably not needed. About a day after my last review I dropped my iPod ( aka the only place I can have Internet) and sent it in to be repaired, now I doesn't take that long, I probably took a week but, I had to read up to this chapter and I started Physical Therpy but, I'm back and I look foreword to your next up date!-Kat_

Why of course I remember you! I completely understand, life happens, and I'm so glad to see you back again =)

**Jerrie Higarashi**: _I really enjoyed the fluff! The romance between Fox and Daryl are just outstanding :) I love the traveling their doing! It's so good!_

Thanks! With these two characters I always have to find a balance between the fluff and their harshness because neither of them are really given to sentiment but I think every now and then there's a time and place for it. And yes, they are definitely on the road. I've spent so much time on the road myself, I'm very familiar with it, and although its an exhausting and sometimes lonely place to be, it's a wonderful place when you have someone to share it with.

**moonquirk**: _Hi. Let me start off by saying that I hate you. I really, really hate you. I hate you so much for writing this story and pulling me in. For creating a world that I know (that of The Walking Dead and all the characters) and entwining it with a whole other world (Fox, obviously) to make something new and exciting, intriguing, interesting, just so damn awesome. I hate that you basically strung me up to a tree from the beginning and had blood coursing down my arms, forcing me to watch this narrative play out then cut me down and to become immersed in these lives. Much like you did with Fox. I feel like I'm a feral animal/reader. I hate that you caused this. I hate that I want more than anything to know her real name but at the same time, I never want to know. More than anything, I hate you because I didn't write this myself and your brillance is amazing to me. Of course, you probably have figured out that when I say "hate" I mean "love", "adore", "in awe of you" and many other words of praise. I love this story. But you're killing me with it and my work ethic. It's been two days and I have totally not done the work I've needed to do because I'm reading. Also, you're only the second author I have ever written to on this site which is huge for me because I am a total lurker. Now that I'm all caught up, I'm going to reread until you give me more. And I mean it, please, give me since this is more fan email than criticism or whatever, you don't have to put this up at the beginning of the next chapter. Unless you want of course. But seriously, you're killing me, I love you, I hate you. Don't stop._

I am so amazed and pleased and full of a crazy sense of wonderment at how every time I turn around I am flooded with such messages of love and adoration for my work. It truly amazes me that wonderful people such as yourself write in to tell me such things and I honestly could not be more grateful. It's a dream come true to be the object of such praise and affection and I can only hope that I continue to earn such strong words. I strive to be worthy of all the beautiful words bestowed on me and my work, and yours…yours just cut me to the bone in such an incredible way. These are the messages that make agonizing whether to cut five pages out and rewrite an entire scene, editing ten times to polish every letter, roaming my neighborhood at three in the morning mouthing dialogue as I try to find the right words, so much more than worth it. I am typically a lurker as well, so I know the kind of work it takes to pull a response like this out and once again, I am so honored you've graced me with your time. And of course I will include this on my replies in the next chapter because even though this wasn't a technical review, I want to shine the spotlight on my readers and reviewers because in the end its you guys that make it entirely worth it. Without you my words are but dusty fantasies in the back of my mind, its you that make them come front and center and shine like stars.

* * *

The cold had snapped right as they'd gotten back on the road again. No snow or sleet yet but a definite bite to the wind and most people didn't go outside without long sleeves. Traveling on the bike was starting to become more uncomfortable, but fortunately for them, they had finally made it to their destination, the Catskill Mountains. Fall was starting to transform the rolling hills into rippled textures of red and gold, the crisp smell of cold water and damp earth rolling against Daryl's skin as the entire group stood up on a ridge on the edge of a highway staring down at the terrain beneath them.

"It's beautiful." Lori whispered softly as she let a hand stretch out to palm Rick's arm. He turned to her and smiled, some of the stress lines melting away from his face.

"And we haven't seen a Walker for a long time." Carol added. She kept a careful watch on Sophia and Carl who sat together on the stone wall that bordered the ridge to help keep people from falling off, kicking their legs out energetically.

"They're still out there though, we can't forget that." Shane said as he leaned against the RV keeping a hawk like watch over the entire group. Rick turned towards him and shot him a grave look but Shane seemed unphased. Daryl turned his gaze back over the rolling hills, wishing he could see through the treetop canopy and down to the forest floor. The animal side of him that didn't mind roughing it for days or weeks at a time in the woods, hunting for his own food and doing exactly as he pleased rumbled with appreciation at the new surroundings. He took a glance at Fox and saw her tipping her head back, letting the brief glimmer of sunshine peaking through the clouds hit her face. Her hair burned crimson again in the sunlight, all traces of the pink gone. Now it was just her dark brown roots showing through to remind him of how long he had known her, and how far they had come.

"My family came up here once, just after Cherie was born. Just to spend some time away from the city and get ourselves back together." She said softly as she tilted her head back down and leaned against the rock wall, fingers curling loosely into the stone. "It was a good place. Safe."

"The world's changed." Shane muttered, breaking both Daryl and Fox's train of thought. "Nothing is as safe as it used to be."

Fox shrugged. "We're not the same as we used to be either." She said, turning away from the man, apparently thinking that was the most acknowledgement he deserved from her.

"Alright, first thing's first, we find a source of fresh water and a place to camp, then we get a perimeter set up. We've got a good stash of tin cans we can string up, just like we did at the quarry. We'll assign patrols when we're familiar with the territory. Dale, what do you see?" Rick asked, turning towards the old man who was perched on the roof of the RV.

"Tucked in the back of those hills is a waterfall. Probably around there would be a good spot." Dale said, lowering the binoculars from his eyes.

"Gotta be careful about fresh water sources." Daryl said, getting Rick's attention. "Animals will be attracted to them too, and there's big game predators in hills like these. The vehicles won't make the trek down to whatever campsite we find for ourselves, but this area is ripe for hikers. There's probably a place to ditch them and get close."

"Fox, what's on the map?" Rick questioned.

The redhead unfurled the sheet of laminated paper they'd stolen days ago and double checked it. "Three miles down this hill is an entrance to a hiking trail. The trail itself leads into the forest, follows the shore of a lake, and then up to the waterfall, probably the same one Dale spotted. Anywhere along the lake would be a good bet, but Daryl's right, the vehicles would never make it."

"Alright. We drive as far as we can and then we take what we need for the night on foot. With the water at our backs it will give us shelter from any Walkers at least on one side. But let's move before we lose the light." He snapped back into leadership mode, almost like turning on a light switch and instinctively everyone jumped to. Almost.

Fox moved slower than the others which Daryl dryly smiled at, but only to himself. She might be doing what Rick asked, but if the man said jump, Daryl had a hard time thinking she would _ever _ask how high. She'd just jump as high as she wanted and if Rick didn't like it, he'd see the pointy end of one of her knives and a edged comment asking if he had a problem.

Daryl led the convoy down the hill keeping a tight control on the throttle until the hill finally leveled out and revealed a wide grassy patch that had two wooden posts at the edge of the tree line marking where the trail started. Daryl tucked his bike into the woods, using some of the thick undergrowth and brush to help camouflage it. He made an internal vow to come up at least once or twice a week to check on it and make sure everything was still clean and in good working order. Fox too seemed almost sad to leave it behind, letting her fingers stroke the chrome for a long moment before shouldering her bag which was loaded down with far more than just her own supplies. Upon returning to the group that were divvying up what supplies they needed, she picked up the guitar and the cheap case they'd scavenged for it on the road. If Daryl hadn't of known better he would have argued with her about dragging it along, but as it was, he knew there was just now way of talking her out of it. When everyone had a bag or sometimes two on their backs Rick looked at Daryl with a sharp nod.  
"You take point. The same rules apply here as what we've been doing. No guns unless absolutely necessary. Keep formation, stay together. Nobody goes wandering off."

Daryl nodded at the man and without a word headed into the trees, glad to be under the cover of the foliage, although he found himself wishing he didn't have a pack of elephants tramping after him. They would alert any animals, prey or predator alike, to their presence within five minutes. Fox traveled behind him, keeping a close watch on her own footsteps, being careful of the patches of slick leaf litter as well as the roots and stones determined to trip them up. Andrea was following close behind and Fox could sense she wanted to say something and didn't take her long before she finally cracked.

"How'd you learn to throw knives?"

Fox's lips twitched as she maneuvered herself under a tangled thick of thorns that had begun to grow in a fallen tree that was supported by its fellows before answering. "Watched a lot of action movies. And then just practiced. I'm sure my form isn't correct, but at the end of the world it seems to be serving me well. But you pack a gun, thinking about downgrading?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde woman.

Andrea rolled her shoulders. "It's not downgrading when it's just you and a knife against a group of Walkers." She said quietly. "I can help you learn to shoot if you want something in return? Since you seem to be determined to stay away from Shane."

"For what? For me teaching you how to handle a knife?" Fox was surprised the woman was trying to barter with her. Her comment about Shane made her skin crawl slightly. She had barely spoken to the man since the last time she'd drawn a knife on him.

"Well yeah. I mean I don't really want lessons on how to woo rednecks." She spoke softer as she said this, her eyes shooting towards the back of Daryl's head about twenty feet ahead of them.

Fox followed her line of sight before snorting with repressed laughter. "For the record, I didn't woo him. We're not sleeping together." She said with a shrug.

"Hey, you don't have to justify anything to me. I'm just trying to get by same as the rest of us." Andrea said sweeping a few tangled curls away from her face.

Fox cut a glance at her shrewdly. "No, you're trying to have your hand in everybody's bag of tricks cause you're afraid of being left behind for the lack of what you can contribute."

"Well if you wanna talk like that, who's to say you're not worming your way into Daryl's pants just to stay safe?" Andrea hissed, her blue eyes narrowing and becoming hard as flint. "Cause you know Rick trusts him. And if you're under his protection, you're safe." She paused for a moment. "So who's the one trying to have their hand in everyone's bag of tricks now?"

Fox's green eyes flashed but her lips twitched with a fiendish smirk and Andrea watched as her fingers flexed on the handle of her kukri knife before easing up and dropping to her side. "I…there's other stuff I'd want to say to that. But I won't. Cause I figure if this is really gonna work I shouldn't be breaking people's toes all the time. So good one, Blondie. And I'll help you work with a knife if you want, but I don't want gun lessons."

"You don't?" Andrea asked incredulously. "Why not? I mean push comes to shove, a gun is a better weapon to have in this world."

"Better doesn't mean best." Fox answered softly. She paused for a while as she had to clamber over a large set of rocks, carefully sliding down the other side, being careful not to bang the guitar too much. "I remember how we met. You tried to shoot me."

Andrea's lips twitched a little. "Yes, I did." She said with a nod. "I'm sorry about that by the way. I wasn't trying to really hurt you."

Fox shook her head. "You were protecting your sister. I understand. I probably would have done the same thing."

"I saw how you were with Maggie when Beth died. I hate to get all touchy feely but if you really want people to trust you and stop staring at you like you might have rabies, that kind of stuff is how you get people to come around. Hanging out with Daryl so much just makes them suspicious."

Fox rolled her eyes. "And now we're back to giving advice." She muttered. "Listen, I'll help you all out however I can because I'm part of this group. I don't want to be the weird stranger anymore. It's old and I'm bored with it now." For her part she kept her tone convincing. "And I don't notice you straying so far away from Dale. Or Shane."

Fox slipped on ahead, glad when she was walking level with Daryl again. The hunter turned to her and gave her a quick glance over, saying nothing, and yet everything. When he finally did speak, Fox was glad to hear his rough tone. He might not have said everything on his mind, but there was more honesty in the few words he did share than in an entire speech from someone else.

"You always go for the ones least likely to make friends. I'm starting to think you're a glutton for punishment."

Fox rolled her eyes and snorted with laughter. "If that was the case I'd be trying to get on Shane's good side. Andrea isn't exactly my favorite person, but she's trying to be useful and capable so nobody has to look out for her. I can respect that."

They were quiet for a while, helping the rest of the group to get down a particularly difficult slope that led them into a creek bed. Daryl splashed several handfuls against his face and neck and though he wanted to drink from the stream he knew better. The bacteria here wasn't the same as what was in Georgia, it wouldn't be safe to drink unless it was boiled first. He was one of the only ones in camp who could drink straight from the natural fresh water sources in Georgia without becoming ill, Merle being the other. His father had taught both his sons two things in life that were actually worth knowing. Never turn your nose up at food or drink if it's a trusted source, and always be ready for a fight. So far it had served him well, especially in this world.

They kept on the march for a solid two or three hours, mostly because they weren't used to carrying so many supplies on their packs over rough terrain and people were about to drop from exhaustion. After the third time Daryl finally got tired of waiting around and dropped his pack on the ground, stretching his back out before going towards Rick.

"I'll keep heading up the trail and see if there's a place we can stop for the night and how much further away it is. The lake Fox saw on the map shouldn't be far from here, the stream is getting larger and faster. We're close."

The sheriff nodded. "Alright. Don't go more than a mile or so, don't want you getting lost in this place."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Like I'd ever get lost here. You all make more noise than a Walker herd."

Daryl turned and walked away after making sure his crossbow was loaded with a fresh bolt and his gun had a bullet in the chamber. He tucked the gun back into his pants before heading towards the stream to follow its twisting path when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Want me to come along?" Fox asked softly. Her green eyes were deeper than the golden sun dappled leaves of the trees above their heads and he could see that she wanted to be alone with him.

"Nah, stay. I won't be long." He answered. There was the tiniest flicker of disappointment in her face before it was replaced with understanding. They both needed time alone, even from each other, and he was taking it for himself. He smiled for her, a silent promise that he'd be looking for her when he came back and headed off into the trees, slipping away silently like a ghost.

Fox turned back to the group at hand, surveying them all. Lori was with Carol helping to dish out small rations of food to help keep them on the march and Fox noticed that Maggie had the bag of metal cans they were saving to use as an early warning system for when they found a place to make camp. The brunette was taking them down to the river to help get them clean and so Fox decided she might as well make herself useful and grabbed the other bag.

"I got it." Maggie answered as she turned to retrieve the bag that Fox was now holding.

"Figured I'd help." The redhead answered as she went down to the stream and took a seat on one of the large smooth river rocks and started washing the cans out with a scrub brush. Not that they hadn't already been almost scraped clean but the less food scent around, the less likely animals would be drawn to them.

"Thanks." Maggie said, though her voice suggested she wasn't sure what Fox was doing by trying to help. There was a stiff, awkward silence between them for several long minutes until Fox decided that it couldn't get worse and took the plunge by speaking.

"Have you ever traveled outside the South?" she asked.

Maggie looked at her out of the corner of her eye, clearly surprised that she hadn't allowed the awkward silence to continue.

"No. Never had a reason to. Never thought I'd find myself about to go on a permanent camping trip in the mountains." She picked up another can and dunked her hands into the cold water to keep scrubbing.

"Me either. I figured this would be the last place I'd live out however many days I had left." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Glenn helping Rick keep watch over them all and smiled slightly, both in fond memories and a sense of almost security. Maggie noticed too and immediately her expression stiffened.

"How long did you know them before me and Beth came along?" Maggie asked with a stiff edge in her voice. Fox knew what she meant by that and so she kept her voice light as she answered.

"Barely a week. Not even that long. Four or five days." She picked up a fresh can and ducked her hands back into the water, letting her curtain of red hair fall around her face.

"Is it true what Shane said? That you were a prisoner?"

She nodded. "Yeah. They had a right to be worried about me, I would have been too. They let me go because Lori had an infection from a cut in her hand and I had medicine where I was holed up. I brought it back for her but on the return trip Walkers followed me and Daryl back to camp. We lost people in that battle and Rick decided that we couldn't stay at the quarry anymore, so we left, and he elected to not have me tied to the roof of one of the cars as we did."

Maggie snorted with repressed laughter and Fox was grateful, she had meant her comment to be humorous.

"Glenn told me that you helped get supplies out of Atlanta with him and Daryl."

Fox judged the tone of her voice to hypothesize an answer about whether Glenn had also told her about her taking advantage of him after that supply run. Glenn would be that type, to be so honest it actually probably would do more harm than good, but judging from the friendliness to the brunette's tone, Glenn had kept that to himself, and she was thankful for it in this moment.

"We needed supplies, and I sure as hell wasn't going to the CDC with Rick and Shane. I hate to think of myself as a literal babe in the woods, but I guess it's true, at least before I met Daryl anyway. I still wouldn't want to be out here on my own." She admitted quietly.

Maggie smiled a bit. "I grew up country, working on my dad's farm. Not exactly like this but I picked up a few things. Makes it easier when you're at least familiar with the land."

There was a quiet pause between them and Fox dared to break it with something they knew was both weighing on their minds. "I meant what I said about Beth. I really am sorry she's gone."

Maggie's lips twitched and her eyes hardened but her voice wasn't cold when she responded. "You said you had a little sister, yeah? She didn't make it?"

Fox shook her head. "I don't know. Logistically, after everything I saw in Atlanta, how hard it is to survive in this world…no, she didn't make it. And even if she were alive…she wouldn't be the same person. I think the warzone of Atlanta would have destroyed her before we made it some place like this." She looked up from her work and watched the rather idyllic stream trickle past, bird song filtering through the golden leaves, smooth sun baked stones, soft spongy moss growing on the trunks of trees, the essence of their earthy perfumes wafting through the air. It really looked like the world hadn't ended, that if they just went back up the hill they'd find it as it always had been, full of living people and technology and her family waiting for her whenever she decided to come back from her adventures. She had always meant to come back to see them, she never intended to stay away forever. If she had known the last time she'd see them was the morning she took off for L.A. she would have stayed longer, held her sister tighter…sang one more song with her mother…

"That's where being the big sister comes into play." Maggie answered with a firm nod, her southern drawl coming through stronger. "That's where you have to be the one who's strong and gets your hands dirty to keep them safe. I never let Beth get near those things…" she trailed off softly but her eyes were firm.

"You suppose that's what Rick does?" she asked, glancing at the man where he was perched on a the stump of a fallen tree, keeping a hawk's watch over the group while the others caught their breath. "Throws his hands into the body to keep ours clean?"

Maggie shrugged. "Glenn said that when he helped them in Atlanta he was the one who stepped up to do the hard thing, and then going back for your man's brother. I think if anybody is suited to leading a group, it's Rick."

Fox let her shoulders twitch. "You think Daryl and I are together?" she asked, glancing over at the brunette as she finished washing up the last of the cans.

"Sweetheart, please. The whole camp knows you're his woman. Sure, nobody's caught you necking behind a tree yet, but give it time." She actually grinned a bit as she walked away from the creek and Fox stared down at the slow moving water and rolled her eyes.

"Would someone please tell him that?" she muttered, laughing at the irony of the situation. Wasn't it supposed to be the guy that was relentlessly hounding the girl?

"No, it would be just like you, at the end of the world, to go for the one guy that you have the least chance of repopulating the earth with." She told herself. She shook the water off the last of her cans and headed back up to the group, gladly handing them over to Sophia and Carl so they could get them dried off.

Less than an hour later Daryl was back, just as the sun began to turn orange over the treetops. Fox smiled when she saw him coming back through the trees, impressed with herself that she'd heard him coming sooner than everyone else had except for Rick. That man's hairpin trigger nerves could detect the sound of a fly landing on a twig at twenty paces these days.

"Well?" Rick asked as Shane stood up from where he'd been resting against a large boulder.

"Perfect spot about a mile and a half away. We can get there before dark if we hurry." Daryl said, shouldering his bag again. She got up and went to him and a large part of her wanted to kiss him and she could see in his face had they been alone he could have been coaxed to do so, but as it stood, there were too many eyes. Something inside her curled pleasantly at the thought of what might be to come.

Daryl led them up the stream, helping them pick their way over the increasingly rocky bed before veering away from the flowing water and crossing back into the trees. They stayed on an unmarked path that he had used his buck knife to help clear of underbrush. They kept on this way as the sun continued to lose its light and fall deeper over the trees. At last Fox could see a break in the tree line about a hundred yards ahead and despite the ache in her hand from carrying the guitar case and the way her shoulders felt like they might buckle from the weight of the pack on her back, she jogged ahead and cleared the tree and marveled at what she saw.

A wide grassy bank bordered a large lake that was tinged by gold and blue with the setting sun. On its northern shore stood a closer tree line, reddish amber leaves blowing in the crisp early fall breeze. Long green grass twitched back and forth in the wind, an invariable meadow surrounding the lake on this southern and the eastern shore. Further north swinging to the west the tree line was closer. There were even late blooming meadow flowers moving with the grasses as they twitched back and forth. Towards the north in the distance was the rise of a mountain accompanied by its fellows stretching to form a barrier of tall but still green hills.

"It's perfect." Lori whispered as she let her fingers twine with Rick's while Carl and Sophia immediately broke free and ran towards the shore of the lake, stretching their legs happily while Carol followed, a rare but beautiful smile gracing her face. Daryl felt a rush of pride flare through him like a tongue of flame and let a small grin trace his own face.

"Too good to be true." Shane muttered.

"Come on Shane, don't spoil it." Dale shot back as he kept one eye on the kids and the other surveying the undisturbed landscape.

"It's like this place made it through without a scratch. How's that possible?" Andrea asked quietly.

"Who cares? It's ours now." Glenn said with a firm nod, seizing Maggie by the hand and giving her a firm squeeze. She grinned right back and glanced at Fox who returned a smaller version of her smile.

"It is ours now." Fox agreed as Rick followed his wife and son down towards the shore of the water. She approached Daryl who had just shrugged out of his bag and set it down at his feet. Fox did the same and looked at Daryl, asking silently for permission to get closer. When he leaned his crossbow down against her guitar case she stood side by side with him, her arms folded loosely over her chest, the cold breeze blowing back her hair.

"You led us here." She murmured as she watched the children play, their parents chasing them around even as the adults fanned out and began to really take stock of their new home.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders. "Been up to me I wouldn't have come. But I'm glad we did."

She dared to sneak her fingers in through his. "Me too." She whispered before watching the sun disappear beneath the trees, the sky streaked with curling swirls of pink and gold, the first of the burning winter stars glimmering on the surface of the lake.

* * *

They spent the next two weeks setting up a perimeter for the camp, stringing their cans on the boundaries, finding suitable trees for watch towers since they no longer had the RV to look out from, getting a stock of purified water, a stockpile of firewood, and Daryl was plenty busy running the local squirrel and rabbit population through with his arrows. Their stomachs stayed full on most nights, but anything left over wasn't wasted. There was always a low fire going to provide smoke in order to preserve anything left from a fresh kill. However one evening he'd come back to camp with grim news that there was at least one, possibly two bears in the area, and if they didn't do something about it, they would come into camp for the food they had. So as a precaution they'd strung up all of the game waiting to be smoked out of reach.

"Alright me, Shane, Daryl, and Fox will hunt for this bear since it's likely to be sleeping in a den right now. No one else leaves camp, we'll be back by morning. Dale, you're in charge until we get back."

Rick knelt down and ruffled Carl's hair who wore a worried look on his young face. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it." He assured his son, pulling him in close while his mother looked on with barely masked concern. Shane had one of the shotguns slung across his shoulders, clearly itching to get the show on the road. When Daryl had first returned with news of the bear he'd been the first to jump to at going on the patrol to deal with it.

"Are you sure you should go out in the dark?" Lori asked softly after Rick stepped away and Carl went back to where Sophia and Carol were working on the laundry.

"Better to catch it off guard while it's sleeping. Daryl can track in the dark and there's enough of us, if something happens, we'll be able to handle it." Rick assured her. He embraced her and kissed her cheek while Shane looked on with barely masked envy.

"Let's go!" Daryl barked as Fox stood by his side. Overhead they heard the sounds of an owl calling for its fellows somewhere, and in the darkening sky Daryl could see the wings of bats beginning to flit through the edges of the trees.

Rick pulled out of his wife's embrace and followed the hunter, Shane on his heels. All four of them had flashlights and when they crossed into the tree line and into the deeper darkness Shane made to turn his on but Daryl shook his head.

"The moon is full and rising. They'll be enough light. The flashlights will ruin it."

"Man, this is not a good idea." Shane argued even as he followed the hunter closely, heading for the same patch of woods he'd been hunting in earlier and had come across the fresh bear tracks.

"Then go on back to camp if you're afraid of the dark, pussy." Daryl growled, his buck knife already in his hand while his crossbow was strapped to his back. Fox snickered at his comment even though she could feel Shane bristling behind her. Being back in the wilds had brought the more feral side of Daryl back to the surface that being on the plantation and on the road had soothed. She focused on keeping sharp on the task at hand but couldn't deny the way Daryl hunting in the darkness, moonlight dappling over smooth skin, muscle rippling just beneath the surface, sharp eyes tinged with silver sweeping over the terrain, noting every sound and twitch of motion appealed to her on an animalistic level. She felt almost the same way she had when he had been stalking her back in Georgia in the summer. She had watched him track her more than once. Back then she had been mischievously amused and toying with the idea of leading him into a trap. Now she wanted to possess him, to know if perhaps alone out in the moonlight if she could bring out the rougher, fiercer side of him, the side she'd seen the first night on the plantation by the fire.

"Right here." Daryl growled quietly after about forty five minutes of silently leading them into the forest where they'd come to a large boulder strewn clearing, another one of the valley's many streams cutting in a zigzag pattern across the grass. "This was where I saw the tracks."

He beckoned them forward and showed them the scuffed prints in the soft, pliable earth near the stream of what appeared to be two large bears. One set was turned towards the trees across the stream. The other led up the creek that spilled down a rocky ravine that was bordered closely by trees, smears of dirt and mud and a black substance dotting the path.

"Blood?" Rick asked as he touched the substance that by now was dry. He rubbed his fingers together before glancing at Daryl.

"Yeah." Daryl tilted his head and brought Rick's attention back to the torn up grass and kicked over river rocks in the stream and across its bank. "There was a fight. Probably two males over territory or a female, one of them won and the other, the one headed up that way, probably lost." He indicated up the rocky ravine hill.

"So which do we follow?" Shane asked as he held his shotgun firmly in both hands. "Maybe we should split up and take them both out before they get any closer to camp."

"Nah. You two would never make it back to camp without getting lost. We track the injured bear, he's more likely to try an easy meal in camp." Daryl glanced from Rick to Fox and then back to Rick.

"Alright. Lead the way." The sheriff finally answered.

Daryl led them up the steep, rocky ravine, having to put away his knife at times in order to use both hands to climb up the rocks. When they reached the top, they saw clear evidence of at least one of the bears heading further along what was now a river. In the moonlight the surface of the water swirled with silver and white foam against rocks and other debris and rippling with dark shimmering black and pitch purple tones where it flowed smoothly towards its waterfall over the twenty foot rocky cliff.

Daryl had his knife out again when they heard the snap of a stick in the distance under the darkened trees. The moonlight gleamed brightly on the rocks along the river but beneath the canopy looked like a dark, very unfriendly world. Even Fox had trepidation about entering but Daryl crossed the river, following the tracks, and kept moving, disappearing beneath the trees. Her heart beat fast beneath her ribs as she followed, and in her mind she heard the echo of drums and sinister string instruments. She swore a wolf howled off in the distance and at first she thought it had been in her own mind but the whole party froze as the mournful sound echoed over the trees.

"Shit, are we being hunted?" Shane demanded with a sharp look at Daryl.

The hunter shook his head. "Nah. That came from a ways away, up the mountain. Wolves wouldn't come into a bear's territory, not unless they're desperate, and there's plenty game for them to hunt right now. We won't have to worry about them until deep in winter. Now shut up and come on. We're close." His voice growled harsh and almost feral over his teeth and tongue and a shiver ran down Fox's spine.

He led them at a brisk clip, following the scraping trail left by their quarry, the moonlight flickering through the foliage until they came to the edge of a clearing where a fallen tree hung over the edge of a embankment of earth and rock, and dug into that embankment was a deep cavity. In the darkness it was difficult to see but Fox could feel the tension crackling across her spine like electricity and she knew they'd found the den.

"What now?" Rick hissed as they dropped back behind the trees as they heard the rustling of foliage and the snapping of twigs.

"We open fire inside and deal with this!" Shane growled, harsh sparks of energy igniting his eyes with a dangerous light.

Daryl was about to answer when he heard heavy breathing and whirled around. There behind them was the black bear they'd been following, it's face a mask of smeared blood and torn fur, likely from its adversaries claws. The animal roared loud with indignant rage and rose up on his hind legs. Daryl and Fox threw themselves back into the clearing to avoid the strikes from its front paws but Rick and Shane weren't prepared. Rick scrambled and tripped up on a root of a tree and the bear slammed its feet down straight onto the sheriff's side, digging in its claws.

Rick screamed like an animal being butchered as moonlight blackened blood gushed from his gashed open side while Shane whipped his shotgun around and fired at the predator mauling his friend, its fangs buried into Rick's upper left arm, starting to worry its head back and forth like a dog with a bone. The shotgun boomed like canon fire and the bear snarled as the shot slammed into its shoulder and lower neck. Shane reloaded and tried to fired again but the bear had lunged towards him, forcing Shane to scramble back to avoid being torn open by large front claws. Now Daryl swung his crossbow forward and fired a bolt, aiming for the animal's head but hit in the side of its neck.

The bear staggered off of Rick completely and opened its bloody jaws, roaring with fury and lunged towards Daryl but Fox flung her largest knife, hitting it in the front foreleg, causing it to stumble. Now Shane swept in and fired the shotgun again, blasting the animal straight in the skull, effectively ending its life. It crumpled to the ground with a heavy shaking impact but everyone had spun around towards Rick.

Their fallen comrade was writhing on the ground in severe pain as he frantically tried to stem the bleeding in the upper part of his side that had been all but gutted. "Hang in there man, we're right here, we're gonna get you fixed up, hang on!" Shane said frantically, grabbing Rick's writhing hand while his head arched back, blue eyes clouded with severe pain and on the verge of passing out.

"Shane give me your shirt now, Fox, get his belt off, we have to get pressure on this, Shane, tourniquet the wound on his arm over the shoulder!" Daryl barked.

"We have to get him out of here, back to camp!" Shane panted with anger and fear coating every word even as he jerked his outer shirt off and balled it up, handing it to Daryl who immediately applied it to Rick's side while Fox jerked the cop's leather belt free of the loops, using both Rick's and Daryl's belt to make a large enough tourniquet to go around Shane's balled up shirt that was pressed against Rick's side. Daryl cinched the two belts as tight as he could until Rick let out a pained gasp, his legs kicking weakly as he writhed, struggling to stay conscious and relieve the pain.

"Freeze!"

Daryl twisted his head even as warm blood was slicking his hands and saw with amazement someone with a rifle in their hands, aiming it straight at them all, tight long fingered hands squeezing the gun, face a sweaty mask of animalistic nervousness, the kind that got people killed for the wrong twitch of a finger. Fox lunged to her feet, grabbing Rick's python from his belt, the nearest gun she could find, and aimed it straight at the newcomer.

"Who the fuck are you?" she snarled, eyes ablaze as she leveled the gun and cocked the hammer back, lips twisted into a vengeful snarl of defensive rage.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Well my lovely readers and reviewers, here we go again! I figured it was a bit mean to leave you all on such a sharp cliffhanger, so here's your reward for such wonderful reviews flooding into my inbox. You all spoil me, you really do =) **_

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Oh, Lawd, damn you and your cliffhangers! Are you going to kill Rick? Please, no? Who is this person with a rifle on them? Fox, throw one of your knives. He don't want none._

Lol, it wouldn't be the Walking Dead without a cliff to hang on to now would it? Lol.

**Emberka-2012**: _With impatience I will wait next chapter. Because very eager to know who they met. I hope Rick don't die._

Well your patience has been rewarded my friend ;)

**hayleyjune13**: _Oh hot damn! Update soon? :D_

As fast as I can =)

**Emerald Gaz**e:_ wow to think someone actually got fox to pick up a gun but hopefully they're not stupid enough to get her to use it. as for rick seeing as hershal isn't an option this new comer better be doctor of some sort of the group is losing their leader. Also what kind of idiot goes out in bear territory alone? they're either really good in the wild (which i doubt since he's so tightly strung) or he's stupid or he has back up not too far away. i like how even fox considers herself daryl's woman. that seems like a pretty bit step, for her to be willing to be someone elses 'property' as for the others andrea loses points once again though shane gains like 2 for being concerned for rick even though he just wants to get rid of him most of the time you know it's evil to leave your readers at a cliffhanger especially when you put a gun in fox's hands? !_!_

Although it takes some time for her to make up her mind on a lot of things, once she has, Fox doesn't waste time on acting on that decision. She still hasn't made up her mind on the group as a whole, but as far as Daryl is concerned, she won't let anybody hurt him if she can do something about it, and even she understands that at this close range without the element of surprise, her knife won't take down the newcomer without her or someone else getting a bullet as well. And as she told Daryl, she's not above bluffing and gambling to get out of a sticky situation. Fox loves her liberty and her independence but she also wants to belong to someone and to be needed by them, and that's really how she sees her relationship with Daryl at this point. She belongs to him and he belongs to her. That perspective is where Daryl still has trouble coming to grips with, and part of the reason why he resists her physical still, because even more than Fox, Daryl fights against the idea of being 'owned' by anyone or anything. Not to say he isn't loyal and doesn't need people, he certainly does, but the boundary lines are stiffer and in different places than Fox's are. And yes, I know how evil I can be with my cliffhangers, but it's all part of the delicious fun of being a writer ;)

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Ooooo I hate cliffhangers. No but I really missed your writing, your so detailed whether it be cinamatic or a fight seen your so detailed that I feel like I'm in the story. There's another person, you no my first thought was that her little sister made it alive and she is the stranger, but that could just be a product of my over tired mind. Not much action this chapter to talk about so I'm just gonna ask because this is something I have been on the edge of my seat to know... Is her name going to be revealed soon your killing me! Great chapter, as always, see you soon. -Kat_

Haha, what's a Walking Dead fic without cliffhangers? The stranger shall be revealed soon enough although I will go ahead and tell you up front that it's nobody that any of the group knows, and they are another OC of mine that I've decided to bring in for purposes of the needs of the plot. And Fox's name, oooooh Fox's name, I suppose it depends on your definition of soon…but let me just say this, I'm sure you will be biting your nails for a while longer as far as that's concerned. I'm glad I have such strong, loyal reviewers, otherwise they might have keeled over from suspense-stress xD

**FanFicGirl10**: _Cliffhanger! Please don't kill Rick i really love him, especially before Shane. Uh oh who the hell could that be? Damn Fox is holding a gun :) Shit just got real! Please Update Soon!_

Shit just got real indeed, that was the effect I was going for when Fox snagged the gun. She doesn't like them and she's not practiced with them, but she knows that when push comes to shove without the element of surprise, a bullet will protect faster than a knife. I love Rick too, I have plans for him, and you shall just have to see where they go….

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _Oh My Gosh. I love how you keep us on our toes and how you don't follow the actual plot of The Walking Dead. This is my favorite fanfic to read because it is so unpredictable and capitivating. Amazing work as always!_

When I finally decided to take the plunge and write a Walking Dead fic I knew that I didn't want it to follow the canon plot because A) I hadn't even seen the third season yet so I had no idea where the canon plot was going anyway, and B) if it follows the canon plot it loses the element of surprise and suspense which is part of what makes the story so great. I'm so glad that I continue to please you with my work, thanks for always writing in!

**Gues1019**: _Nooooo why would you do this to us?! Another great chapter as always but the cliffhanger is just mean. Who could this newcomer be? Is it someone that Fox knows?_

I'll go ahead and say that the newcomer is nobody that anybody knows, they are another OC I decided to bring in. You'll just have to read on to find out who they are ;)

**ry123red**: _great chapter! I love how Fox picked up on Daryl's almost predatory side when they were hunting at night. And I NEED to know who this stranger is! It's killing me! I also liked how Fox and Maggie kinda bonded. And Andrea is as obnoxious as ever, lol. Can't wait for the next chapter!_

Fox is indeed more visceral and raw than most people so she picks up on that wild energy Daryl gives off when he's in his natural element. And yes, Fox and Maggie did kind of bond, and Fox realizes that the group does pay attention to what she's up to. She's used to feeling isolated, alone in a crowd so to speak, so when people like Maggie make observations about her, particularly about her relationship with Daryl, it brings it back into perspective for her. And yeah, Andrea can be obnoxious more times than not, so I'm glad I kept that aspect of her character well represented, lol.

**Unfeigned**: _Thanks. This story is so good that I have done literally not a damn thing today. Everyone is so in character that it's scary. I love Fox and enjoy her, flaws and all. I absolutely love that you have included Maggie, and think that with a little bit of coaxing she and Fox could be great friends; they seem to have the same kind of ferociousness about them. I hope that the person they have run into will be able to help them winterize and fortify. I can't wait for more of this awesomeness and WILL be holding my breath :P Also you are my hero._

Awww, thank you so much for writing in with such lovely praise! It makes my Muse and my writer's heart wriggle with happiness. And of course I included Maggie! When she first showed up in the series I wasn't sold on her because of the way she was basically using Glenn for kicks and dragging him around, but as her guard lowered and she showed that she really cared about him I grew to like her more, and now she's one of my favs. There are a few parallels between Maggie and Fox and I do think that could definitely bring them closer together, and I look forward to delving into those ideas in the near future. And yes, a new stranger! I can't wait for you guys to read the next chapter and tell me what you think about them.

**Sage**: _Hi! I'm a new reviewer, obviously.. I've been reading this for a few days, I started and I just read and read and read and read... This is the best fanfiction I've ever read. I love your detail, your plot ideas... I love YOU! Will you marry me? (; Lol just kidding, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this fanfiction... seriously the best ever. I'm obsessed, truly obsessed. I've had dreams about this fanfiction O_o_

Haha, Vegas style baby, where's the preacher dressed up like Elvis? But in all seriousness, I'm so glad that I can bring this kind of joy and enthusiasm to someone via my writing, even if its in a grisly world like that of the Walking Dead. These are the kind of reviews that make writing one of the best things I could do with my time, and I will never tire of them. =D

* * *

Daryl stared at the burgeoning crisis emerging, amazed that he was being covered with a gun by this little pipsqueak. The kid, for he certainly wasn't a day over eighteen looked unsteady but determined to hold on to the rifle, a thatch of messy blonde hair over his head, his already lean face tightened with stress and fear. He was slender in build, probably not a hundred and twenty five pounds dripping wet. They could certainly take him physically, but who knew how itchy his trigger finger might be.

"Drop your weapon!" she ordered, sounding every bit the cop she wasn't.

"You drop yours! What the hell are you doing trying to fight a bear? Why in God's are you out here in the first place!" There was almost a tenor of amazement, and even fear, in the person's voice, and a sharp New York accent.

"Our friend is badly injured, all we want to do is get the hell out of here. You stay right where you are, we will go back to where we came from, and nobody else needs to get hurt." Fox snarled. She hadn't lowered the gun, if anything, her finger was stroking the trigger, and Daryl dimly wondered if she would really use it.

"Unless you've got a hospital where you're going, your friend is going to go into shock and die. Now if you promise to give me something in return, I can take him somewhere safe where he can get the help he needs." His hands were shaking on the rifle and a muscle in his cheek was twitching spasmodically but he held his ground.

"How the hell can we trust you?" Shane growled.

"Are you gonna argue that while he's bleeding out? Come on! Before something else shows up to kill us all!" The kid swallowed hard and lowered the rifle, slinging it over his back after flicking the safety back on. It was an awkward transition, as if he wasn't really used to the gun, but he took a step forward towards them, hands open in a gesture of peace.

"Freeze right there!" Shane snarled, now grabbing his own handgun which he had dropped while tending to Rick. "You come any closer and I'll take your head off right now."

"I can help!" The kid insisted. "I'm a med-student, or I was, before the world went to shit. I have medical supplies in my cabin, it's less than half a mile from here." He paused and looked from Shane to Daryl, not sure who was in charge. "Let me at least look at him, maybe I can treat him in the field and then you don't have to trust me on my own ground?"

"Shane…make up your fucking mind!" Daryl growled, as the ex-cop still hadn't allowed the kid to get any closer. His hands were soaked with Rick's blood and the man's skin was getting ghostly pale. His eyes were open still but he seemed incapable of speech, and breathing wasn't exactly easy because of the intense pressure Daryl was exerting on the tourniquet.

"Get over here." Shane snarled, keeping the kid covered with his gun. Fox knelt down beside him, keeping one eye on Shane while the young man's quick, obviously experienced hands gently peeled away some of the layers of fabric to inspect the wound in both Rick's side and his arm. Immediately blood began to gush like a river and he pushed the fabric back down and Daryl re-tightened the belts.

"His spleen is damaged, if it's not removed he'll bleed to death in less than an hour. I can do it but not here. You'll have to come with me. I have supplies in my cabin, antibiotics, pain killers, clean saline and stitching threads, bandages." The kid looked towards Daryl who's face was a mask of anger, and Shane's which was borderline on murderous.

"You said you wanted something in return? What is it?" Fox demanded, her fingers firmly clenched on Rick's python still.

"There's time for that later. Right now we have to move him and get him inside before he goes into shock, or before the biters come." He was already on his feet and Daryl could see his hands were shaking.

"Biters? You mean there's Walkers in the woods?" Daryl demanded.

"Not many, but they'll be drawn to the gunfire. If we hurry we can get past them without trouble." He looked even more fearful now that he didn't have his gun in his hand, about ready to tear off back into the woods and leave them for dead.

"Fox cover him. Daryl you carry Rick, I'll take point." Shane ordered as he took another glance at Rick's face that was almost pasty white, even his lips were losing color. Daryl didn't waste time, he scooped Rick up into his arms, his back all but screaming in protest but he didn't let it show.

"Go!" he barked hurriedly, already beginning to follow the kid as he headed into the trees, leaving the carcass of the bear behind them while Shane swept ahead with his shotgun loosed now, covering every single foot of ground with ruthless efficiency. Rick was trying to speak but Daryl could only make out half put together words in between his gasps of pain as he was jarred over the rough terrain.

"How much further?" Daryl panted, his grip on Rick starting to slip. Fox kept the gun on the kid but glanced back every few feet, making sure they didn't fall behind.

"We're here, come on!"

The trees thinned and wonder of wonders, they came upon a log cabin that was tucked at the back of the clearing, a thin trail leading into another patch of trees that had been deliberately cleared. The kid took off, running at a sprint up the steps and into the cabin while Shane and Fox followed after him, Daryl bringing up the rear, his arms shaking as his fingers bit into his grip on Rick, the cop continuing to bleed through the tourniquet. He almost fell carrying him up the set of stairs but Fox moved to catch them just in case. She held the door open and Daryl made it through, still listening to Rick's half conscious moaning.

"In here!" the kid called and Daryl followed the sound of his voice to what looked like was a kitchen, the table obviously hastily cleared off, three gas powered lanterns strung up on a coat rack to give him light to work. Daryl laid Rick on the table as gently as possible, his entire body shaking with relief now that he was no longer carrying the man's weight.

"Ok now get back, give me room!" the kid snapped, all but pushing Shane away now. He carefully peeled away the hastily made bandage of Shane's shirt and inspected the wound again, replacing it almost immediately when scarlet fluid gushed onto his hands.

"We gotta get this bleeding under control, you, Red, keep pressure on his shoulder and chest but don't break the bones. You do the same for his side, open the tourniquet and then pull it as tight as you can and don't let go until I get back. I have to get the supplies I need. Gunslinger, do whatever it is you gotta do, just stay out of my way." He shot an annoyed but still nervous look at Shane before maneuvering himself out of the way and running down the hall.

"What the hell are we gonna do now? If he dies here…" Shane growled low in his throat.

"Shut up!" Fox snarled as she leaned all of her weight on Rick's shoulder and chest, causing the man to groan substantially. "He's not gonna die!"

"Who the hell is this kid anyway?" Shane asked as Daryl loosened the belts around Rick's waist and then pulled them tight again, straining with how hard he pulled, almost hard enough that it restricted Rick's ability to breathe which was coming in shallow, fast pants.

"Does it matter as long as he's gonna help us? He's a freaking Chihuahua compared to us, I think we can handle him and his rifle." Daryl drawled, voice still tense with the force he was exerting on the belts.

Just then the kid re-emerged with an armful of supplies that he unceremoniously dumped onto the counter behind him. He pulled on a pair of gloves and quickly strung up a bag of saline using the coat rack as an IV stand and fed the needle into Rick's arm, the sheriff barely noticing as he was pricked again. The kid messed with the bag of fluid until it started flowing down the plastic tubing before he took a needle and measured fluid from a tiny glass bottle and injected it straight into the line feeding into Rick's arm. He then motioned for Daryl to move out of the way.

"Ease up on the pressure, slowly!" he barked. Daryl did as he was told, gradually releasing the pressure on the wound. Rick gasped a grateful breath of air even as Fox kept her full body weight on his shoulder. The kid peeled away Shane's blood soaked shirt and immediately pressed a mass of white gauze and bandages against it.

"Alright, again, pull." He ordered as he ripped open a scalpel from a package and held it in his hands. Daryl could see the kid's hand's shaking.

"Whoa, whoa, kid, what the hell are you doing?" Shane demanded as he went towards Rick with the gleaming steel blade.

"I told you! His spleen is torn, if I don't take it out, he'll bleed to death! If I can get it out and keep the bleeding under control he should be fine. I shot a dose of painkiller into the IV line, it'll start working in just a minute, enough time for hopefully some of the bleeding to stem. I may need you to hold him down still, at the very least take his arm and hold it away from the wound so I can work. And by the way, my name is Benjamin."

"Alright Benjy get started, my arms are getting sore here." Fox growled from where she was still situated on top of Rick's arm.

Shane took Rick by the wrist and pulled his arm back above his head while the cop's head lolled back and forth, sweat gleaming across his skin under the glare of the harsh lights of the lanterns. Benjamin nodded to Daryl to ease up on the pressure again.

"Help me roll him to his side." He asked. Once Rick was positioned on his side the kid took a long breath in and cut with the scalpel. Almost immediately more blood slid down Rick's side and Daryl's stomach rolled as the scarlet fluid flowed freely, slicking the table and dripping down to spatter against the floor.

"Shit, Red, get some of the plastic tubing and siphon off the blood so I can see." Benjamin ordered as he clamped his hand back on the wound, doing his best to keep pressure on it.

"Ah fucking hell!" Fox snarled but she didn't waste time, immediately hopping off the table and grabbing one of the coiled pieces of plastic and inserting one end in to the wound before sucking on the end like a straw to siphon away the blood, just like they did when they were siphoning gasoline from abandoned cars. As soon as the suction took over, she spat out what little blood she'd gotten into her mouth into the nearby sink, keeping the other end of the tubing down the drain as well. She looked almost ready to be sick as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and Daryl tried not to picture the chupacabra.

Benjamin worked as quickly as he could but it still was like watching a mad scientist hacking on their friend. More and more blood spilled onto the floor even as Fox kept up the suctioning as best she could, moving the end of the tubing where Benjamin asked as he worked. The minutes ticked by as Benjamin dug around in the wound, Rick still as someone already dead on the table.

"Gunslinger, thread one of those needles with the sterile suture line, I'll need for when I've got his spleen out." Benjamin barked as his eyes narrowed and focused like a hunter taking a breath before squeezing the trigger. Finally after what seemed like hours of panic he finally pulled Rick's shredded spleen from his body and threw it in the sink.

"Needle." Benjamin barked and held his bloody gloved hand out and Shane grabbed the very carefully threaded needle and handed it to him.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Daryl demanded as he continued his job of sopping up the blood Rick had lost with anything he could find because according to the kid they couldn't use bandages for that purpose, they'd be needed for Rick's side and his arm which by now had mostly stopped bleeding. The bear had managed to tear some deep lacerations into the flesh but nothing life threatening.

"I have to close as many of the torn arteries as I can before I give him the O-neg blood I have. He could still go into shock as it is, but I did the surgery as fast as I could. Red, have that bag of blood ready to go as soon as I get this done." He panted.

"At the ready Benjy." She muttered, having already strung the bag of unthawed blood and ready to feed it into another of Rick's veins on his other arm.

"Gunslinger, scissors!"

Shane rolled his eyes and handed Benjamin the scissors with which he used to clip the sutures closed.

"Alright Red, now." He panted as he stepped back and wiped the sweat away from his brow in the crook of his arm.

"Blood flowing." Fox said with a slight nod as she watched the red fluid begin to drain from its bag and into Rick's arm. By now the man was completely unconscious but halfway through ripping open his side to get at his spleen Benjamin had assured them he was still alive, using Shane and Fox to help make sure that he was still breathing and his heart was still beating.

Now Benjamin set to work on stitching not only the cuts he'd made with the scalpel but also where the bear's claws had torn in. He used straight rubbing alcohol to keep the wound area clean and Daryl was sure that Rick would be thankful he was unconscious at this point as he could only imagine how badly this must have hurt, painkillers or not.

"Those sutures should do fine. Now I can get his arm." The kid said as he finally finished stitching up Rick's side and moved towards his shoulder. For the first time Daryl exhaled a full breath as he watched the young man work.

"You said you were a med student? A doctor in training?" Shane questioned as Benjamin set to work on stitching Rick's arm after he doused it with a heavy splash of rubbing alcohol and scrubbing with cotton swabs to remove any dirt or impurities, not being shy with the pressure or the scraping since Rick was passed out. Once the wound was squeaky clean he threaded another needle and started stitching.

"Yes, I was. I was a third year student, about to be a fourth year, when the world went to hell. I was trying to decide whether to go into surgery or into emergency medicine. To think that was the biggest decision I had to make…" he muttered as he continued to close Rick's wounds.

"Why is this place set up like a field hospital?" Fox demanded as she rested her arms on the table, her hands covered in dried blood, staining them scarlet.

"I'll explain everything, just let me concentrate." He muttered as he bent and shifted to get the best angle with the light. When he finally finished stitching the man's arm he cut the thread and leaned back against the counter, taking in a long breath.

"Now start talking." Shane growled more threatening now that Rick was, for the moment, stable.

"Alright Gunslinger." The boy said with a heavy sigh as though he were too exhausted from nerves to be frightened. "I wish I could offer you guys some coffee or tea but I drank the last of it a few days ago. There's two jugs of wash water out on the back porch, you can use it to wash the blood off and then come back. I'll stay and keep an eye on him until you're done."

"If it's all the same to you, I think one of us will stay put to keep a watch on things." Shane muttered, his fingers twitching on the handle of his gun.

"Hey man, easy. I'm not gonna hurt him, or any of you. I ain't like that." Benjamin said, the barest trace of a whine in his voice even as Shane advanced on him.

"Yeah well, we've met all kinds of people on the road, can't ever be too careful." he growled.

"Shane. Back off. Let the kid breathe." Fox said, an exhausted sense of authority in her voice.

"Oh you think you're the one to be giving orders now?" Shane drawled, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Don't pick a fight with me now, Shane. Don't even. I just drank your friend's blood to save his life, so fuck off." Her voice dripped with a threat and for once the cop had the sense not to push her any further.

She stormed out towards the back porch and Daryl followed after shooting daggers in Shane's direction while Benjamin all but shriveled into nothing as he tried to avoid the impending dogfight between the three of them.

Out on the back porch just as Benjamin had said were two metal buckets of water. Fox was already scooping some free and trying to scrub the sticky blood off her hands, almost clawing at herself in her haste.

"You ok?" Daryl asked as he took a seat next to her.

She didn't answer as she continued to furiously scrub at herself, trying to get the blood off her skin that had reached almost to her elbows.

"Hey!" Daryl barked more insistently now, grabbing one of her hands and forcing her to look at him. "Are you ok?" he asked again, more insistent but softer at the same time.

"I…I'm fine." She panted as she tried to jerk her hand away from Daryl's grasp. "I'm fine." She repeated.

"He's gonna be ok." Daryl said with a firm nod of his head. "Benjamin seems to know what he's doing. We're not losing him."

"That's not what bothers me." Fox whispered. She scooped up more water in her palm and rubbed it against her hands, finally starting to see pale skin again as she rubbed the water off on her jeans.

"Then what?" Daryl questioned.

"That could have been you." She breathed. "You on that table. Your blood everywhere. Some mad scientist hacking you open." He saw her hands shaking even as she spoke.

Daryl tilted his head at her, not sure how to respond. No one had ever worried for him in that way before and he wasn't sure how it made him feel. In a way he was grateful…it showed how much she cared, but he hated to see her afraid like this. It wasn't like her.

"It wasn't." he finally said. "And it won't be."

She looked up at him, her green eyes brittle- hard but just on the verge of shattering into a million pieces. "You can't promise that."

"Hey," he took her chin gently in his fingers and forced her eyes to meet his. "I'm not going to let that happen."

She forced a smile and gently pulled out of his grip. "Now there's blood on my face." She muttered. Daryl smirked a little, not able to resist the opportunity to tease her and lighten up the mood.

"You're worried about that? I'd be more worried about the bleeding rat's nest on your head."

Her eyes narrowed but she smiled more genuinely this time. She paused for half a second before splashing him with a palm full of water before rubbing it all over his face and hair. He huffed with amusement She finished cleaning up her hands and he used as little of the water as he could to remove most of the blood from his hands but some of it was stubbornly stuck under his nails. They went back into the cabin and found Shane still coldly staring Benjamin down.

"Alright, now that we're all back together again, start talking." Shane growled.

"When the outbreak hit I was living in a dorm room in Manhattan. My dad was a surgeon and my mom was an Air Force pilot, but they were both paranoid survival junkies. Stocked up on MREs and guns and bullets and especially medical supplies. They bought this place so incase something happened in the city they had somewhere safe to go. Well when people started eating each other, I figured that qualified as something happening, and I got the hell out. The plan was for all of us to meet up here as soon as possible and to sit tight until everyone made it. They never showed." He looked down and away from them and Daryl half expected him to cry but to his surprise he didn't. Just sniffed a little and then looked back up, as much steely resolve as he could probably muster on his face; except he still looked like a shivering Chihuahua after a cold bath.

"And you? You learned all of this from your parents?" Shane asked, nodding towards the table where Rick still lay beneath the glow of the lights.

"Some. My parents home schooled me my whole life, so I was ahead of the curve. I took the entrance exam into med-school and I got in, so I just went ahead and started. I'm twenty one."

Daryl whistled. "Damn. Who knew we'd find Doogie Howser at the end of the world."

"Seriously. I am legal to drink." He muttered as he pushed a hand through his tussled blonde hair.

"Still running on mommy and daddy's coat tails even at the end of the world, eh pretty boy?" Fox rolled her eyes at him as she looked around the cabin and its wealth of luxuries offered at the end of the world.

"Look, I don't want any trouble, ok?" Benjamin said, offering up his hands in surrender again.

"But you do need something from us? What did you think you were going to get by helping us?" Shane growled still holding onto his pistol.

Benjamin's eyes darted nervously from each of them and then back to Shane's. "I…" he swallowed hard, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "I was hoping that you might be willing to spare food, if you have it. Almost all of the food here is gone and to be honest, I'm a shitty shot with the rifle, even with the scope."

"We'll discuss it when Rick wakes up." Shane growled low in his throat after a moment's pause. Fox's eyes looked ready to bug out of her skull and Daryl watched the man storm away towards the back porch. Fox paced restlessly near the front door while Benjamin looked in on Rick.

"He's out of his mind! We just struck gold with this kid! What's to discuss?" she hissed angrily running her fingers through her hair.

"We don't know this kid. Yeah he looks harmless enough but we have to be careful." Daryl warned softly.

"So, you're siding with Shane on this one?" Fox demanded coldly.

Daryl shook his head. "No. I'm just saying, we should be careful. When Rick wakes up, he'll make the final judgment call."

"And what if he doesn't? Are you going to let Shane shoot us in the foot?" she muttered.

"Calm down." Daryl said heavily feeling drained and exhausted already. "Rick's gonna be fine."

Fox walked away from him back towards Benjamin where he was keeping a close eye on the man on the table. Sweat was still beading on his skin even as his chest very slowly rose and fell.

"Won't he overheat under the lights?" Fox asked softly.

Benjamin shook his head. "No. Not yet anyway. It will help keep him warm to prevent shock. If he doesn't regain consciousness within a few hours he may never wake."

Fox looked at him with a ruthless expression and immediately he cowed away from her, fingers scrambling against the counter as she advanced on him.

"It's just the truth!" he said in a fast, panicked breath. "Are you going to blame me for your stupid decision to try and track that bear?" His New York accent came through thickly as he all but turned himself into a pretzel trying to avoid Fox's striking range.

Her lips twisted into a hateful snarl in response to his fear, but only for a moment before the anger melted away into very grim understanding. When Daryl heard Shane return he went into the kitchen and met in the middle as Shane did a once over with his eyes, surveying Rick's condition.

"Someone has to go back to camp to tell them what happened. Where we are." Daryl started, staring at them all with sharp blue eyes.

"No. Nobody goes anywhere until we know something for certain. There's no need to panic everyone with hearsay." Shane shot back, leaning his arms onto the table, looking down at his feet briefly.

"Hearsay? Are you out of your mind, Shane? Rick was mauled by a bear! His family has a right to know what happened as soon as possible!" Fox snarled.

"You shut your mouth!" Shane barked back as Benjamin carefully wormed his way out of the kitchen to get out of the line of fire.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Daryl snarled. "She has just as much a right to say what she thinks as any of the others in camp, and especially now, because I didn't see you getting your mouth dirty to save Rick's life!"

"You gonna come over here and make me?" Shane challenged and Daryl already had his fingers curled around his buck knife to answer that taunt when Fox shoved herself in between the two men.

"Stop it! We can't go to pieces, not now! Rick wouldn't want this for us! We have to keep it together, for better or for worse, so help me God, if I have to beat you both into unconsciousness to stop you from killing each other I will!" She swiveled her head back and forth, red hair whipping around her face and neck as she met each man's eyes. At Shane there was a sharp stab of anger, and a threat of leverage. At Daryl was a pleading to be reasonable and back her up. She held herself between the two of them for a long moment until the tension cracked and slowly began to ease.

Eventually she stepped out of the way again as Benjamin slowly approached. He looked like a mouse trying to sneak past a cat and his voice was cracking as he forced himself to speak.

"If it means anything, I have to side with Gunslinger on this one. If his family is waiting for him somewhere, by the time you made the trip back to tell him, we'll know one way or another if he'll pull through. You might as well wait till then."

"And what if his family wanted to be here when he wakes up? Or when he dies? We're supposed to rob them of that chance for fear of worrying them? They'll already be worried, one way or the other." Fox growled.

_Devil's advocate. _Daryl thought to himself, but he knew that she had a point. If it had been Merle on that table, he would have wanted someone to come get him as soon as possible. But the kid was right about the distance. By the time someone could go all the way back to camp and come all the way back it might be too late.

"What would he want?" Benjamin asked, nodding towards Rick who still hadn't moved from where he lay.

Shane stared at his friend's limp body and looked down at his feet for a long minute before running his fingers through his messy hair. "Hell if I know." He finally said.

"Jesus Christ, you're his best friend!" Fox snarled coldly. "Wasn't he shot before all of this? Wasn't the first thing you did after he was in the ambulance was run and get Lori and Carl and bring them to the hospital?"

"That was different!" Shane snarled. "We had cars and the world wasn't full of walking dead people!"

"Alright, someone has to make a decision!" Benjamin yapped, raising his voice over all of them. "I don't really care which, I don't know this guy and I don't know you, but I don't want to clean up another three bodies after you all kill each other, so make up your minds!" He looked surprised at himself for having the balls to get involved and Fox almost laughed at the ironic comedy of it all.

Daryl rolled his eyes at the pipsqueak, despite the valid point he made. "Go clean your scalpels kid and leave this to us."

"Fine by me." Benjamin muttered before skittering away into the back room where Daryl guessed most of his supplies were kept.

The three people left in the kitchen stared each other down, shifting their eyes slowly from one person to the next. When Fox met Daryl's eyes, there was a silent understanding there.

_Let me do this. Let me prove myself. _Fox said silently, all with her expression, even as her fingers curled into the edge of the wooden table. Daryl's instincts rebelled at her going out there alone in the dark, but he understood why she was willing to do so. It would put her in good stead with the other members of camp and even after all this time she was afraid of her security with the group. She wasn't reacting so violently to that fear anymore, now desperately seeking a way to dispel it from her own mind, even at risk to her life.

"Shane." Fox started, keeping her voice soft as she met the man's dark eyes slowly. "At least give Lori and Carl the chance to see him before something happens. One way or the other."

The ex-cop's neck bent again and when he finally looked up Daryl could see a resolution in his face. "Fine. Go and get them and bring them here."

Fox all but bolted from the kitchen for the door, Daryl following, not intending to let her go alone by any stretch of the imagination. One of them had to stay behind to look after Rick and keep an eye on their new companion and it might as well be Shane to be the one to stay with his friend. But before Fox could get out the door, Shane called her and forced her to turn around.

"If anything happens to Lori or Carl on the way here…their blood will be on your hands." He warned, and there was a cold, murderous light there. A threat.

Fox said nothing in acknowledgement but something burned in her green eyes, and Daryl's spine twitched uneasily at the thought. If Shane intended to hurt her if something happened to Lori and Carl, he could see Fox gearing up to fight, and now she would take no prisoners. She would kill him if she had to, he could see it in her, just like he had seen that same murderous intent in Shane.

In Rick.

In Merle.

In himself.

He grabbed his crossbow from where it rested by the door and swung it on his back and followed Fox out into the night, for once completely grateful for the darkness.

As the door slammed shut Shane turned slowly around and went back to the kitchen where his friend lay listlessly on the table. His skin was slicked with sweat and even though he was unconscious he looked like he was in pain. The only sign he was still alive was the shallow breaths he pulled in every so often.

"Twice now I'm the one watching you die." Shane said quietly. "You…you can't keep doing this, Rick. You can't keep stringing Lori and Carl along. You can't keep dangling yourself like a piece of bait in front of them. It ain't fair!" he snarled, slamming his hand down on the table, jolting Rick but not waking him from unconsciousness.

"It ain't fair."

What wasn't fair was the fact Rick kept trying to leave Lori and Carl, kept trying to tear their world into pieces, and leaving Shane to clean up the mess, without any of the reward. Because for everything that happened to Rick he somehow always managed to pull through. He somehow managed to get his eyes open and live to fight another day, keeping Lori and Carl to himself in a terrifying, precarious balance between life and death. Shane's inner nature had long since considered the idea that Rick maybe just wasn't fit to survive in this world. Shane had never had such close calls like Rick had, had never worried Lori and Carl for his safety the way Rick had. It wasn't good for them and it wasn't fair that Rick kept hurting them like that. It was wrong.

"It's wrong, Rick." He hissed. "It's wrong and you shouldn't keep doing it. Someone's gotta put a stop to it. For their good. Let me…let me end this. Let me end it. They'll be fine. I'll take care of them. I'll keep them safe, I won't let anything happen to them…you know I wouldn't!"

It would be so easy. All he would have to do is put Rick out of his misery. One clean shot to the head and it would be over. Then he could kill the kid in the next room and say the kid had snuck up on him, shot Rick, and Shane had shot back in self defense. The kid was a total stranger, nobody would ever have to know what had really happened. Daryl and Fox? They weren't here to see Benjamin creep up behind Shane to threaten him, weren't here to see the rifle in his hands go off and hit Rick, killing him.

It would be so easy. Then all of this madness would be over. He could go back to camp, soothe Lori and Carl's pain, just like he had before. Everything would go back to normal…the way it should…the way it was before Rick had come back into camp and destroyed everything Shane had worked so hard to build.

"Let me end it." Shane whispered, taking his gun from its holster and holding it to Rick's temple. "Just let me end it. Then it will all be over and everything will be like it was…" His finger stroked the trigger with an almost loving caress as he stared down at Rick's nearly lifeless body. The man looked almost at peace the way he was right now, why…why should he be allowed to come back into consciousness? To suffer and to make others suffer? No. Shane knew he had to do something. He had to be the one strong enough to take care of things. He always had been. Rick had let everything go to hell. If he had to be the one to put it back together, with bloody hands cut up on the jagged pieces, so be it.

His finger tightened on the trigger, just a hair's breath away from firing the bullet when he heard the scraping sound of a footstep coming up the hall. Something in him seemed to crack and he quickly stuffed the gun back into the waistband of his pants after long practiced fingers flipped the safety back on. A moment later Benjamin came around the corner and saw Shane leaning against the table, his head down between his arms, hands clenched together as he kept a stiff vigil over his friend.

"What happened to the other two?" he asked quietly.

"Daryl and Fox? They went back to our camp to get Rick's wife and son to bring them here. I stayed to keep an eye on things." His voice was calm but like a nervous animal Benjamin could sense an underlying tinge of bloodlust. Of a primal rage just barely being contained.

The blonde kid nodded slowly. "Alright. I never did get your name." he said very quietly.

"Shane."

Benjamin nodded and then slowly beat a retreat back down the hall, making a mental note to check in on Rick in an hour. When he went back to the room he'd been using since he'd holed up in this cabin, he picked up the rifle from where he'd laid it on his bed and made sure there was a bullet in the chamber, fingers shaking at the thought of what he had let into his house.


	24. Chapter 24

**_Alright ladies and gentlemen, my wonderful readers and reviewers, here we go again. All of you have been so wonderful to me and making this story such the success that it is, and I just felt the need to say that. I really can't say it loud enough so I hope it comes through loud and clear. I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, tell me what you think, it makes my world shine bright to hear from all of you. _**

**veganmagase**: _Shane's internal struggle was chilling! He is so selfish and I really hope Rick pulls through because Shane would be one scary leader. This story is such an emotional roller coaster! That is awesome!_

I totally agree! Shane would be a hella scary leader. It would be interesting to see the dynamic that the group would take on if Rick were to die…would the group revolt against Shane and kick him out, or even kill him? Would Shane pick and choose who to stay and who to leave? Or would the group disband, discontent to follow him? He really is selfish and therein lies his greatest fault I think.

**hayleyjune13**: _Hot damn!_

Glad to know I stay consistent XD

**FanFicGirl10**: _Yay, Rick is not dead thank you Ben :) I really hate Shane that s.o.b really needs to die, like soon. I hope Fox and Daryl get the others to the cabin Chapter, Update Soon!_

Benjy is the last person you'd think could save the day just by looking at him physically, but the post-apocalyptic world offers all sorts of opportunities for people =) And yes, Shane is slowly spiraling downwards. It's so much fun to write, along with the deepening relationship between Daryl and Fox.

**ry123red**:_ I really like Benjamin! He seems like a good addition to the group, if they let him join. I hope Rick pulls through! All hell would break loose if he died and the group was left without a leader. Especially between Daryl and Shane. Another amazing, interesting, crazy, awesome chapter! Can't wait to read more._

I'm glad Benjy is being met warmly, I was a little worried about bringing in another OC but I have purpose for him. All hell would indeed break loose if Rick were to die and it would be interesting to see who the group would rally behind as leader. To me there's only 3 options, Shane, Daryl, or Dale. Dale would make a good leader but he wouldn't want the job, and I'm not sure he'd have the fortitude to make hard decisions when it came to the safety of the group. Daryl could do what was necessary and keep the group safe on the road but he doesn't want so much responsibility on his shoulders, and Shane…we all know Shane is out of his freaking mind. I could see Daryl and Shane fighting for control of the group if Rick were killed, Daryl to keep the group safe and away from Shane's negative influence, and Shane for power and control. So let's hope Rick comes through eh? ;)

**Emberka-2012**: _Benjamin seems pretty normal guy. And besides, has the necessary for the group medical skills._

Benjy is a pretty normal guy actually, if a little on the nervous side, but who wouldn't be in this situation. And he does have very valuable medical training. Even as a third year med-student he would know enough to take on most wounds or infections (I would know, I watched my mom go through med-school.)

**WinterIsComing1015**:_ Intense. I can actually see Shane doing something like that on the show - like I can SEE it in my mind! Amazing. Poor Benjy. He's a good kid I think and he has every reason to be nervous with Shane in the house. I hope the others get back soon. And I know Rick is going to be ok (right?) but I hope Lori and Carl get to be by his side soon. Great job._

Even though I am obsessed with the third season of the show, I have still been going back through and re-watching Season 1 and 2 for clues about the way the characters would act, and I was very moved in the scene where Shane first takes aim at Rick in the woods before being confronted by Dale. The look in his eye was pure predator. Rick was in his way and he was going to remove him from his path…until Dale showed up. But Shane's dialogue with Rick just before he was killed reveals that he does look for ways and reasons to justify his behavior. "What do you know about what I can live with? What I live with?!" Its a fascinating dynamic that I could spend ages analyzing. And yes, little Benjy, he's a good kid caught up in a group of very dangerous strangers, I think my hands would be a little sweaty on the rifle too! And as for Rick's fate, you'll have to keep reading! ;)

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _You almost made feel bed for Shane, almost. I'm in a hurry I'm going to see Rise of The Guardians again (best movie ever!) so I'm gonna keep this short, Benjamin looks like an underdog, I like underdogs so he's cool I'm being yelled at to hurry so I'm gonna go. :) -Kat_

Benjy is a bit of an underdog and much in the same way my first impression of Glenn was in the show in the sense that it would be a surprise that he would survive the apocalypse, but every now and then you find people like that. Because even though they seem like underdogs, they're fast and they're smart and they know people. And that's awesome what you said about feeling bad about Shane (or almost XD) that was my intent. Shane is evil because of how selfish he is and therefore deserves the fate dealt to him on the show but beneath all of that I do think there was a good man who was twisted and warped by the world. Some people become paralyzed with fear in response to trauma, some people become violent and bloodthirsty. I think Shane was trying his best to hang on to who he had been, but is slowly being eaten away and torn to pieces by the world around them and now is acting on both survival instincts and selfishness. He sees Rick as a weak link that is dragging the group down, but he's also jealous that Lori and Carl are loyal to Rick. He knows he could take Rick's place, so its only a matter of time before he makes his move…

**Scared-Heart**: _okay, so first off through most of this chapter all i could think about was the bear. i mean think about all of that meat! not to mention that glorious fur skin that can be turned into coats for the kids or a really good blanket. and it was just left behind to rot! i wanted to cry a little. and then i freaked out over rick and now i have a bit of bloodlust of my own for shane. can we kill him now? please?_

I had my thoughts about the bear as well and hopefully the group will get a chance to go back for it before Walkers or another predator gets a hold of the carcass but at the moment they have to help Rick, and it would probably take most of the group members to haul that carcass back to camp as it is. And yes, Shane brings out those intense feelings in people, probably because he has them in himself. I look forward to continuing the conflict between him and those he is surrounded by ;)

**Emerald Gaze**: _I know right, even the walkers aren't that threatening. Considering when shane dies in the show it's really interesting to see how he fits with the others now. As for him thinkin about killin benjamin that seems pretty unfair considering he's made friends with a whole other group of survivors that we still don't know the pre-apocalypse connection to!_!_

As the show has progressed it has become humans that are the true threats in the world, not so much the Walkers. It's only a natural progression of the story because as the group continues to survive and adapt, Walkers become the manageable threat, especially up North where it's cold and their movements are hampered by the weather. And yes, Shane is still walking that delicate tightrope but it won't be too much longer before he cracks openly. That progression in the show in season 2 was amazing to watch, I can only hope my writing measures up as the conflict continues to spike. And Shane considering killing Benjy is just a matter of eliminating a witness, nothing more. He's ruthless like that.

**Jerrie Higarashi**: _I really liked Benjamin! He's different and I'm relieved that he saved Ricks life...Omg, I'm not sure that Shane should be able to live anymore...his crazy ass wants to kill Rick! Somebody needs to go ahead and kill his ass! I wish that we could get more Fox and Daryl in :) I never have to say Update soon anymore cause you always do (:_

I'm so relieved Benjy is being accepted by my wonderful readers. I wanted his entry into the story to be smooth and relatively painless. I had to re-write his parts several times because every time they came out too tough and strong and that's not who I envision him being. He's survived this long mostly by avoiding people but now he's thrust back into contact with dangerous types and he's so nervous, poor kid, I feel bad for him XD. And yes, Shane is spiraling ever closer to the brink. Don't you worry about Daryl and Fox, there will be plenty of screen time between those two in this chapter I can assure you ;)

* * *

"I'd forgotten how fast you were." Daryl panted heavily as he forced his legs to keep going, chasing after Fox in the darkness as they ripped through trees and underbrush back towards camp.

"Come on! We gotta hurry!" the woman replied as she all but bounced in place waiting for Daryl to catch up. When he climbed up a moss covered rock she took off again, going at a fast lope, weaving over and under trees, scrambling up over rocks and pulling herself along muddy portions of the trail with her hands, using the nearby trees as bracers.

"We gotta have enough energy to make it back!" Daryl growled as he chased after his now dark haired phantom as the moonlight turned the blood red color to black. It was eerie to see her like this, it reminded him so much of the way he had chased her when she was still the enemy. Huffing for breath, her green eyes gleaming with something that was almost excitement, legs all but shaking for the want to run full tilt, she looked every bit the hungry predator chasing down prey in the night, ready to bring it down by tooth and claw.

They said nothing more on the matter, both of them going as fast as the terrain would allow. When they crossed back into clearing where they had killed the bear, they found the carcass still there but it was not unattended. Walkers were digging through the thick black fur and flesh, ripping off bloody chunks of meat, but upon seeing them they raised their grisly heads and snarled, staggering up from the carcass and towards them.

"Kill 'em or leave 'em?" Daryl asked.

"Kill." She snarled, her husky voice an animal's growl. She unleashed her kukri knives and killed two in as many seconds while Daryl swung his buck knife and impaled the other two, leaving their bodies where they dropped.

They kept running, heading for the river they had to cross in order to get back to camp. Fox went first, going at a fast run, taking the stepping stones as fast as she could, Daryl not far behind. But a terrified yelp sounded over the falling of the water and Daryl's heart leapt between his teeth.

Fox had slipped on her last jump and tumbled straight into the river. She thrashed wildly as she struggled to get a grip, heading straight for the nearby twenty-foot fall. He didn't hesitate, he threw himself into the water which was much deeper than he anticipated. The water was shockingly cold and he found himself hard pressed to draw his breath but he dug his foot into a crevice between several rocks and snagged a fistful of Fox's leather jacket that she'd taken on one of the supply runs they'd made for more cold weather clothes. He pulled back hard on his arm as she thrashed and kicked, trying to swim up the current.

"Grab the rock!" He ordered, sputtering through a mouthful of freezing river water.

She twisted her fingers around Daryl's wrist before letting go of the precarious stone she already had a hold of and threw herself towards the bank, trying to get a grip on the slick rock to haul herself out. Her fingers dug into the few grooves available even as she lost her footing, her head ducking under as the current tore her fingers free of her hold.

Daryl let out a wordless sound of desperation, still having a hold on her arm, his foot that was anchoring them almost breaking with the strain as he dragged her against the current closer to him. The rushing of the water around his head trying to flood his lungs made it hard to breathe but he refused to let go. He ducked his head under the water and used both hands to snatch for Fox, finally getting his other hand on her shoulder. He shoved her up to the surface so she could catch a breath, her head breaking the dark barrier and she gasped for air just as he did the same, sputtering water out of his mouth as he struggled to speak.

"Use me, climb!"

Fox didn't waste time. She clawed at his shoulders and back to get a grip as he did his best to help her scramble over his body and onto the wide flat rock that he had jammed his foot under to keep himself from drifting down stream. Her boots scraped against his shoulders and neck but it was more than worth it when she rolled to safety onto the rock, even though she accidently kicked him in the side of the head as she did so. Immediately she twisted around and grabbed his free hand and started to drag him out of the water. He precariously let his foot go and Fox seized him with both hands one interlocked with his wrist and the other snagging a tight hold on the shoulder of his jacket. She growled with the effort as she dragged him backwards, muscles straining as inch by inch she hauled him out of the icy water. His legs kicked furiously and finally managed to push off the rock and launch himself straight into her chest, knocking her back as he collapsed onto her body, gasping for breath, already shivering thanks to the breeze that picked up and the chill of the water and his now soaking wet clothes.

He rolled off of her and stared up at the sky, seeing the thousands of stars glistening like diamonds against black velvet, navy blue clouds lined with silver at their edges drifting past every so often to break up the brilliant display. The moon was a cold pale eye that gleamed fiercely, shining icy light down on them as his chest heaved for air. He sucked in each precious breath like it might have been his last, gasping hard for each one. As his eyes remained glued to the sky he realized that he was filled with a sudden rush of sheer gratitude that he was alive and how crystal clear and razor sharp the stars above him looked. It was only when his breathing began to slow down that he remembered what had happened and he shoved himself up to his knees.

"You ok?" He asked as Fox mimicked him, staring down at the rock underneath their hands and knees.

She coughed several times and he gave her a few hard taps on the back until she hacked up several mouthfuls of river water. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and then struggled to her feet, using him as a support as he did the same.

"Yeah. I'm ok. Come on, we gotta go." He saw the determination in her and even though his bones ached and his flesh hurt, he agreed.

He nodded to her firmly and they went together across the last jump whereupon they made it safely to the grassy bank on the other side. He took the lead and they were at a fast jog by the time they cleared the last of the trees and made it back to the lake. Both of them were shaking, not just from cold but from exhaustion too by the time they staggered back into camp.

Dale, who was on watch on the RV, whistled to announce their arrival and immediately Glenn, Maggie, Lori, and Carl came running to greet them. At first it was with joy but when they saw it was just Daryl and Fox, Lori's face became panicked.

"Where are Rick and Shane?" she demanded.

"How did you get soaking wet, what the hell happened?" Dale demanded.

"Rick's hurt. We got him somewhere safe and stable right now but Lori, you and Carl gotta come with us." Fox panted as she bent over, her hands on her knees trying to keep from collapsing.

"What do you mean he's hurt, what happened?" Carl asked, fear coating every syllable as Sophia ran up to support her friend.

"We found the bear we were tracking. It mauled Rick before we could kill it, but, no freaking lie, this kid showed up with a rifle and took us back to his cabin where he patched up Rick. He was a doctor in training before the world went to hell. Shane stayed with Rick and the kid to keep an eye on things." Daryl explained. He looked straight at Lori who stared back at him with disbelief and something akin to terror etching over every stress-tightened feature. After a moment of tense silence she turned to Carl and knelt down to him.

"Baby I need you to stay here. I'll go with Daryl and Fox to make sure your dad's alright, but it's too dangerous for you to be going out now." She stroked his cheek and his hair, pleading with him to understand with every motion.

"No! I'm coming with you!" Carl insisted sharply, pulling out of his mother's worried hands.

"Carl…it's too dangerous in the woods at night. Who knows what could be out there right now. I need you to stay here. I need to know that you're safe while I'm with your father." Lori pleaded.

"No way! I'm not a little kid anymore! He's my dad and I'm going with you!" he snapped. He took off back towards his family's tent to get the small pistol Rick had been letting him carry while on the road.

"Jesus Christ…" Lori whispered as she got back up to her feet and turned to Daryl with a helpless expression.

"How far away is this place?" Dale asked, keeping a watchful eye on everyone standing together.

"Three or four miles. We got wet because we fell into the river that we crossed getting there. We ran back here as fast as we could." Daryl answered.

"If you're in that much of a hurry, Rick must be bad off, more than you said." Lori accused sharply.

"Didn't want to scare Carl." Fox said as she rang out her wet hair and then threw it back into a ponytail. "The kid we found, Benjamin, he took Rick's spleen out to stop him from bleeding to death. When we left he was stable. The cabin's stocked with a bunch of medical supplies but he's out of food. He wanted us to help him out with that in exchange."

"I can't deal with any of that right now, I just need to get to my husband." Lori said hurriedly. She buttoned up her coat and checked the bullets in her gun just as Carl came to join them again, Sophia at his side. He said a soft word to Sophia before the little girl gave him a hard hug and then let him go. Even amongst the crisis they were facing, it made Daryl feel more at ease knowing that God forbid something happen to the boy's father, Carl had a friend waiting for him.

"Give us two minutes to get into something dry and then we'll go." Fox panted even as Daryl was already headed straight for his own tent. She followed him since they shared the small structure in part because sleeping without the other felt wrong at this point, and it helped to keep warm as the temperature of the Northern nights continued to drop.

As soon as they were changed they jogged back to where Lori and Carl were anxiously waiting and led them towards the western edge of the lake. They disappeared under the trees again, Daryl moving as swiftly as his aching muscles would allow, Lori and Carl for their part keeping up without complaint, fear giving them all the energy they needed to keep pace.

Fox gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep up. Her bones ached, her skin was crawling with cold chills; so much so that even her teeth were chattering despite the fact her clothes were dry. Her muscles burned and tightened with every single step like stiffened rubber, not pliable flesh. She couldn't remember a day she'd felt so shitty since her first flight from Atlanta when the world had ended. She dug further back in her memories, running through nights of traveling with her mother and her sister, and later her group, as a way of blocking out the physical pain, even as her teeth sank into her lip to bite back a groan of agony as she kept after Daryl and the others. She began trying to form snatches of lyrics in her mind, imagining longing acoustic strumming and pained electric wails as her fingers pushed the strings. The pleasure of her memories and the physical pain combined was almost enough to make her cry even as she forced one foot to go in front of the other, but when they came to the river she had a reprieve. She saw the still damp rock where she and Daryl had climbed out, alive and gasping for air, just desperate for that next breath, and she realized that if this is what her life had become, a life or death struggle every moment of the day just to exist, she wouldn't want to be with anybody else. Yes of course she deeply craved and missed the company of those she had lost, but Daryl forced her to keep going, taught her new ways to live, and most importantly brought out her will to fight and survive. She watched the way he moved across the rocks through the river, making sure Lori and Carl reached the other side safely, and then looked over his shoulder for her. The look on his face was almost enough to break her heart with sheer joy. It was a mixture of concern, shared pain and determination, and something that said 'come on bad-ass, let's go another ten rounds.' She took a snap-shot of that look with her eyes and joined him across the river, snagging his hand once with a fast squeeze before they took off again.

They kept on running, going as fast as the terrain would allow, causing Carl to trip up several times. Once he went down almost under Daryl's feet and the hunter lunged down and shoved the boy up, keeping him going with a rough push. Lori's eyes flamed with a mother's protective anger but as soon as she saw Carl up and going again she relaxed and kept running along with the rest of them. They skirted the clearing with the dead Walkers and the bear and kept on, Daryl navigating on memory and his sense direction alone even as the sky began to tinge with the first hint of light, just a loosening of the blackness and an emergence of a very deep navy blue off to the East. Only a few of the stars in the East had dimmed by the time Daryl broke through the tree line to the cabin.

Carl and Lori sprinted the last few yards, running straight up the steps and jerking on the handle, spilling into the house, almost hitting Shane in the chest as he came to greet them. Daryl and Fox brought up the rear all but staggering into the cabin as Shane shut the door behind them as Lori and Carl ran to Rick's side.

Daryl leaned his crossbow down against the wall by the door where Fox had braced herself with one hand, doubled over, her bedraggled hair spilling down her shoulder in its messy pony tail.

"You gonna be sick?" he asked as soon as he had the breath to speak.

"Thinking about it." She answered with a pained expression but even in her eyes he could see the barest trace of sarcastic humor and he was reassured.

He helped her stand upright when she was able and they all went back to the table where Lori was now squeezing Rick's hand, Carl standing close by staring at his father's face, his eyes a stony mixture of disbelief and pain.

Just then the would be doctor came from around the corner. Lori and Carl tensed at first but then he spoke.

"You must be Lori and Carl. I'm Benjamin." He explained offering his hand towards both of them. Carl accepted but Lori didn't, she seemed incapable of letting go of Rick's hand.

"You did this?" she asked, staring at the tubing feeding into her husband's limbs and the stitching in the wounds across his side and shoulder.

Benjamin nodded. "Yes ma'am. I heard the gunfire from them trying to kill the bear they were tracking. I hadn't seen another living soul for more than two months so I came to see what was happening." His New York accent peeked through but not as strongly as it had been when he'd had a gun on him.

"We're grateful for what you've done for us." Lori whispered, her voice tight with stress even as Shane slowly approached her, his dark eyes steadily fixed on both her and Carl. "How are his chances?"

Benjamin approached slowly and checked the IV fluid bag and the blood bag draining into his arm, both of which were almost empty. "He's still fighting. I cleaned and disinfected the wounds and I've already given him a heavy dose of antibiotics just in case. He should be awake soon."

"And if he isn't?" Carl demanded, narrowing his eyes at the medic.

For his part Benjamin was professional when he answered. "Then we will handle that when the time comes. But you should know, his odds are good. His pulse has been strong and his blood pressure was good the last time I checked it. I think his danger of shock has passed. Now he just needs to rest."

"Thank you." Lori murmured. She stayed by her husband's side after Benjamin pulled two chairs for her and Carl to use from where he had shoved them out of the way in the corner of the living room. Shane remained where he was, sitting on the counter top, keeping a close eye on the small family as they watched Rick beneath the harsh glow of the lantern lights.

"And you two, you need to rehydrate, eat, and rest." Benjamin said quietly as he approached Fox and Daryl after remerging from the back room. He had two bottles of water in his hand along with two silver pouches that Daryl recognized as MREs from Merle's brief stint in the military.

"How much more of this do you have left?" he asked as both he and Fox used a small bit of the water to activate the heating element in the pouches before downing the rest while they waited for it to warm up.

"That's the last of it." Benjamin said with a grim sigh. "I was going to take those and head for the highway to start looking for food to scavenge in the town that's nearby. It's got biters all over it but I wasn't going starve to death in a deer stand."

Fox and Daryl both wolfed down the MREs, not caring that they probably looked incredibly uncivilized as they cleaned the pouch spotless with their fingers, practically inhaling everything that was inside and even then their hunger was barely glossed over.

"Why would you give it to us?" Fox asked softly. Daryl couldn't help but agree with that statement even though his stomach was clawing for more food. It wasn't normal for strangers to share what little supplies they had with what amounted to basically home invaders.

"You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I have nowhere else to go and all of you look reasonably healthy, so I know you have food and resources wherever it is your holed up. I'll bring you all my medical supplies if you let me come back with you to your camp." He said softly. Fox now had the chance to really get a good look at him and even in the darkness saw how young he really was. Smooth pale skin that had probably never seen a day of stubble in its life, high-sculpted cheek bones and an aristocratic nose and chin, she immediately could see the upper class New York pedigree he had claimed. His eyes were a smoky hazel color, changing from amber to green hues depending on the light. He looked like he belonged in an Ivy League dorm room crunched over a huge medical textbook, not holed up in a cabin in the woods with gritty strangers all around him.

"Discuss it with Rick when he wakes up. He's the leader here." Daryl muttered as he swallowed down the last of the MRE.

Benjamin nodded and went back to check on said patient while Daryl walked outside back into the cool pre-dawn air. Fox followed him, too tired to even begin to process everything that had happened. Daryl led the pair of them into the woods, seeking the comforting closeness of the trees even as the sky steadily began to lighten up, the navy blue already getting lighter, becoming a hazy purple shade as the glow of the stars began to dim. Beneath the canopy of the trees the darkness was still thick but manageable, a few tendrils of fog creeping along the forest floor to curl around their feet. The smells of damp forest air and crushed vegetative matter filled both their heads with a musty haze and eventually they both sank down to the ground near another part of the river where the water ran with just enough speed to sing softly over the rocks and fallen tree limbs as it moved downstream.

"Thank you." Fox murmured she sat down next to Daryl as he leaned against one of the large boulders, his booted feet almost getting wet as he stretched out his legs.

He leaned his head back and staring up at the slowly lightening sky through the lazily moving canopy above his head. He could have passed out right then he was so tired. Fox's body warmth was soothing and he desperately wanted to tug her close into his chest and just sleep away his hunger and exhaustion. But despite the physical ache there was a restlessness in him that had led him into the trees in the first place; a need to just take several long minutes and process everything that had happened in the quiet stillness of the woods. Normally he did this kind of thing alone but he wasn't sure the solitude would suit him as well in this moment. "For what?" he asked in response to her statement.

"For pulling me out of the river." She explained, her voice even more tired than when she had started. She turned her head to catch his blue-eyed gaze and she smiled fondly at him.

"You think I would of let you go over and break your leg? Or worse your neck?" he asked, arching one eyebrow at her, his voice rough with exhaustion and something that might have been surprise.

"Don't under-estimate what nineteen years of only ever having yourself to rely on will teach you." She said heavily. She was about to lean into him and close her eyes but he stiffened and looked down at her.

"What?" she demanded noticing the change between them.

"You're only nineteen?" he rasped, his mouth and throat suddenly going dry.

Her lips twitched into a thin smirk. "What are you worried about? It's not like I've got a daddy to come chase you down with a shotgun for corrupting his daughter's innocence."

"It's not that, it's just…damn." He cursed quietly, feeling his stomach knot up with sudden tension.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh Jesus H Christ on a cross and all his disciples! Don't play this stupid game with me. Every time I turn around you find a different excuse to push me away physically. What the fuck are you so afraid of?" she growled, now legitimately annoyed.

"Nothing!" he snapped, pulling away from her and getting up to his feet. She got up to hers too and cut in front of him as he tried to beat a retreat away from her.

"Bull! Ever since Virginia you've barely laid a hand on me! I was trying to be patient and let you work through whatever issues you have, but God damn it, after tonight, this just proves we could die any day of the week and it doesn't even have to be from Walkers! The only thing that could keep you away from me like this is fear! Fear of fucking what I haven't got the slightest clue! The whole camp thinks we're screwing around as it is so what the hell is your prob…."

At that moment she was cut off. Daryl had whipped around from where he was trying to get away from her, a hard glint in his cobalt eyes. He had advanced on her and right in the middle of her sentence he had grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her against him so hard that every inch of their bodies met and melded together while his free hand tangled in the hair at the back of her head and forced her mouth against his in a rough, biting kiss. His teeth sank into her lip, pulling until she let his tongue in her mouth and by this point the hand on her wrist was cupping the side of her face, holding her as close as possible. He inhaled her into himself, tasting blood and musk and fear and passion so strong it was like an electric shock as she responded to his rough treatment, grabbing him back and sinking her nails into his scalp, tugging on his hair with a soft groan. He didn't question why he had taken this plunge. She was right. They could die any day and he was tired of denying himself, and her, for petty emotions he couldn't control anyway. They might not get another chance away from everyone like this for many more nights and he wasn't willing to wait anymore. Besides, he was tired of her thinking he was some scared schoolboy. Was he nervous? Sure. But fucking hell if he'd let that stop him anymore. He'd come to far, spilled too much blood, and chased away too many devils in the night to let that stop him now.

His tongue dove into her mouth for a second look while his fingers loosened in her hair, no longer afraid she would pull back. He slid his hands down her back and at last laid his hands on her hips and pulled her against him as hard as he could without toppling them over, squeezing and massaging the flesh and bone he found there. It sent a thrill of delight over every inch of him and he became increasingly aware of how hot under the collar he was becoming. She writhed beneath his hands, rolling her hips up into his hands and his pelvis, giving an appreciative sound when he squeezed her hipbones, not put off by it but reveling in the way she moved with sinewy, battle hardened muscle. She was no simpering Southern belle that he had to take care of and protect. She was a fighter, a hunter; she was like him, and somewhere he had it in his head that even Merle would have approved.

She forced her tongue past his and into his mouth, not about to be out matched in this furious game. She cleaned him out of every breath he'd ever thought about having, swallowing any uncertainty he might have had and replacing it with a burning current of lava like desire, soaking into every crevice and driving him so far over the brink it was like he'd been shoved off a cliff with the force of a freight train. He literally felt like he was falling and she was the only thing he had to hang on to as he struggled to keep from losing his mind. He ripped at her jacket, tearing it off her shoulders as fast as he could and throwing it to the forest floor somewhere before she hooked one leg around his and brought them down gently to the forest floor. When they landed they rolled together in the soil, causing an earthen perfume of moss, crushed leaves, and damp earth to rise up around them. Combined with the spicy musk of her scent it was enough to make him growl in his chest, the sound grating between his teeth as he kissed her even deeper. She pulled her mouth away from his finally not only to steal a breath but also to sink her teeth deep into the side of his neck as her hands scrambled against his outer vest, struggling to get his arms loose of the fabric before she tore it to pieces in her haste.

When she unhinged her jaw from his neck and tipped her head back he arched up off the ground slightly to watch the way she writhed beneath him, her pale skin tinged with sweat despite the cool morning air. Her collarbone peeked from beneath her shirt and he wanted to taste the thin sheen of moisture that had built on her skin and without hesitation he bent his head down and lapped at her skin, his warm tongue sending pleasant jolts deep into her rib cage. He wanted to taste more of the musky balm of her skin and so he sucked harder, getting his teeth in as well. She responded by bucking up into him her hands digging into his hips and pulling him tight against hers. It flooded his senses like water gushing from a hose onto dry, cracked ground and he renewed his efforts, pulling her shirt free from where it was tucked into her jeans, dirty hands streaking the fabric with soil but she couldn't be bothered to care. She pried herself away from him just long enough for him to lift the piece of cloth off her shoulders and send it flying to accompany her jacket, and that was when he saw it.

A large portion of the front of her body, partially hidden by the black bra she wore, was covered in a tattoo. At first he couldn't see the whole thing because she was pressed so close to him when she realized he was staring, she pulled back and sat up on his lap. She reached around behind her back and unclipped her bra, setting it aside and then allowing her arms to rest around his neck as he stared at the ink on her skin. It was a firebrand, visceral depiction of a phoenix rising from burning embers, the bird's body and intricately designed feathers writhing together in a mixture of red, orange, yellow and pale pearly colored inks, flowing like actual flame from the tip of its sharp beak which pointed straight above her heart, all the way down to its fanned out tail which curled down almost to her right hip. The wings were flared over her breasts, each and every feather drawn in. Behind the rising phoenix was the yin and yang symbol, the edges of which were raked like combed back spikes, the dark side not actually black but a hazy mixture of very dark blue, black, and purple. The likewise the light side was not actually entirely white, but a mixture of pearl, silver, and storm grey.

He was at a loss for words and decided to hell with thinking about anything at all. The overwhelming need to simply feel and be and possess this woman who had driven him to the edge of every emotion and back roared through him and so he ran his hands against her back and pulled her close again, his fingers curling into her shoulder blades as his teeth met her collarbone. He teethed the bone gently, letting his tongue sooth the nips before he nuzzled his way down her sternum, inhaling as deeply as he could, unable to get enough of her smell which was a mixture of the earthy forest around them and something deep and primal, salty with the tang of feral wildness and predatory desires. She seemed to sense his need and grinded down hard against his lap, rolling her hips against his pelvis. It caused a burning blaze of heat to curl through him and ignite a furious, animalistic desire that he'd had yet to ever feel until now. He pulled her down hard against him and arched into her at the same time, desperate for more of that wonderful friction, dimly able to hear himself letting out deep, ragged breaths as more and more need pride off the lid of his control and filled him with longing. He moved his teeth back up her body before letting one hand slide from her back towards her chest. He caught her mouth with his as his fingers curled around her breast and she shivered in his arms. He kissed her as deeply as he knew how as his exploration of her body continued, switching hands every so often even as she tugged on his shirt. He reluctantly broke their contact and allowed her to peel the cloth away from his skin before she caught his lips with her own once more.

She brought him back down to the forest floor as their chests touched even as his curious fingers ran over every inch of her skin, nails lightly tracing the lines of her tattoo before curling down towards her belly while his free hand traced the small of her back and hips, palming first and then squeezing tightly as she grinded down against his pelvis, causing another unbelievable wave of heat and desire to rip through him. It made him realize what they were up to and unwilling to stop or let her think he was afraid, he pulled on her belt, fumbling several times until she finally broke their frenzied kiss to sit up and help him undo it. As she did so he reached for her legs and resumed his scrambling pace, undoing the laces to her boots and prying them off quickly. As soon as her belt was free of its loops she lowered herself back down to his chest and kissed him again but gently pulled on his hair, guiding him to roll over so he was on top of her, the sensitive skin of her back against the damp forest floor, the blue grey sky of the fall morning above her eyes now. She closed them and tipped her head back as he led a line of sweet, torturously wonderful kisses down from her neck over her breasts and belly before his fingers hooked into her jeans and began to pull them down. He teethed her abdomen and hips with his mouth as his fingers deliberately dug in and pulled her panties down with her jeans at the same time. He slid the rest of her clothes off her body before crawling back up the length of her now naked form and kissing her again, his tongue hungrily claiming her mouth for his own while her hands worked his belt open. Even as she did so he groaned softly and buried his face into the side of her neck, grinding down against her thigh, instinctively seeking friction and relief from his straining arousal.

She twisted her fingers into his pants and pulled them down to his knees before he shucked them off. The only time he stopped kissing her was to hurriedly untie his boots and kick them off his feet, sending them, and his socks, rolling somewhere in the underbrush. By now he couldn't even care because she had her fingers on the top of his briefs and were pulling them down, peeling back the layer of cloth over his hips before it was loose enough to be flung away with the rest of their clothes. She could feel him shaking but by now his mouth was back against hers and she could feel him fighting his nervousness. That wasn't what mattered to her. What mattered to her was that he was here and he was facing what might possibly terrify him the most. He wasn't telling her no, he wasn't using her, he was giving her everything he could, and in her mind it forever sealed the way she would feel about him into every inch of her skin.

She spent several long minutes exploring his body the same way he had hers, tenderly kissing the scar on his chest along with the half a dozen others or so that riddled his abdomen and sides, along with the ones along across his muscled back and shoulder blades, each raised rope of skin and flesh shivering under her skilled touch, somehow almost raw and over stimulated already, all the while his hips pressed down with need against hers even as he let loose more and more breathy groans against her skin. His teeth and tongue were becoming more insistent now and she knew he wasn't going to last much longer.

She took him in hand, and when her fingers wrapped around his arousal he stiffened slightly, his teeth sinking into her neck hard enough that it hurt. She soothed him with a croon in his ear and stroked him repeatedly until she heard him growl roughly against her throat. She guided him down between her thighs until she felt his hand replace her own, running through her damp curls and against her sex, exploring with gentle but possessive touches. She groaned softly as his rough, calloused fingers shot wonderful sensations through her core as his unpracticed fingers mapped out her most intimate places. She could feel him lining up to take her and managed to get her eyes open and pull on his hair to get his attention.

"Look at me." She panted.

Cobalt blue met emerald green, and between the two of them they both had their answers. This wasn't just fear of possibly not living to see the next sunrise. This was need and want and a craving to be close to each other. An unspoken desire to be with each other as intimately as they knew how because the world had brutally ripped everything else away and torn their fingers free from their metaphorical knuckles as they struggled to hang on to anything that made them human.

He slid himself inside her and struggled to remember how to breathe. He'd never felt anything like this before, not in all the years he'd walked the earth; no warm blaze of whiskey down his throat, no bitter tang of nicotine inhaled, no sharp surge of pride from a fight won had ever felt this good. The silky heat and pressure and her soft groan that might have been pain except for the shudder in her breath at the end made him hum from the inside out with pleasure he never knew he was capable of feeling. He buried his face down into her neck and shoulder again as he tried and failed to take it all in. He remained still like that with her for what might have been eternity and she let him do so, her fingers running soothingly up and down his spine, curling and mapping out the expanse of his back even as he opened his eyes again and stared down at her, unbelieving that this was really happening and yet knowing it was true because of the way his nervous system was short circuiting at the same time.

She rolled her hips experimentally against his and immediately crackling pleasure struck him dumb except for a bitten off moan. He wanted more and so he moved on his own volition this time and was pleasantly rewarded as his nerve endings fired rapidly increasing tingles of pleasure all against his skin and deep into his flesh, sinking into his bones like an elixir for the senses. She parted her thighs and curled her knees around his hips and pushed him back down into her and he got the message, slowly but surely finding a rhythm with her, toes curling with intense pleasure wracked spasms. He began to lose control of his faculties, fingers curling over every inch of her flesh that he could reach, one hand holding himself up over her, twisting into the moist soil even as the sun continued to rise, damp silver fog whispering past them like a ghost. Words like gravel cut moans began to drip off his lips and into her ear, most of them curses and strangled sounds as his pace increased.

She let herself go, deciding to enjoy this as much as he was. No longer was she worried about him, worried he would pull back and leave her hanging like so many other times. She collapsed back into the ground and wrapped her arms around his torso and shoulders, loving the way he writhed against her, his belly dragging hers, the lithe muscle beneath his shoulders flexing as he continued to thrust against her, rugged yet handsome face moving back down to catch her mouth in a bruising kiss, his messy bangs almost falling into his eyes, haloing the cobalt irises like dark chocolate tinged with gold in the pale light of the autumn dawn. The way he moved within her was certainly not with the best of expertise, but it had been so long and she had craved this moment so much she had tasted it in her dreams and now that she had him like this it was better than she could have ever imagined. Pleasure zinged through her core and up her spine, radiating outwards as she clutched his back and shoulders with an ever harder, more desperate pull.

"Daryl…" she groaned into his ear, clawing one hand down his scarred back while the other splayed her fingers against his side and abdomen as his thrusts became ever faster and more urgent. Her head lolled back and she sucked in a strangled, gasping breath, trying to hang onto this moment with an iron grip. Her nails dug into his back and shoulders causing him to hiss but he still didn't slow down.

He seemed pleased by what she said as evidence by the way his lips curled against hers before he pulled away in favor of biting at her neck and collarbone. Even as his rhythm picked up in pace yet again, she felt him teethe at her shoulder and neck. His low grunts and growls told her he was very close, his bites more insistent even as his free hand dug into her hip, blunt nails leaving little marks on her skin. Sweat shimmered on both their skins as the thick musty smell of the forest enveloped them both and with his pace near frantic, she now met him thrust for thrust, blindly desperate to reach her own undoing as he did the same. She was so close she could feel it burning through her body, the cliff right there, just feet in front of her as she ran full out to throw herself over the edge.

"Don't stop. Please…" she begged, her husky voice barely recognizable as she arched up against him so hard that her spine curved dramatically as her nails dug sharply into her back as her peak rocketed through her like a bolt of lightening straight to the brain. Pleasure radiated from the base of her skull through her entire body as white light blinded her eyes and she heard a crescendo of the most incredible music in her life roar inside her mind. She cried out curses and his name as the tension built and shattered all in the same moment, ecstasy soaked pieces of jagged glass tearing through her, ripping her open so completely that she had nothing left to hide even as the sensations continued to come over her like crashing ocean waves. His thrusts had become so fast it was hard to tell where he stopped and she started until he slammed into her one last time, grunting with suppressed force and intense pleasure while his teeth sank down so hard into the flesh of her neck and shoulder that she knew there would be a mark. He ground his teeth in deep as he rode through his own climax, breath coming in harsh, ragged gasps as his body continued to quiver like racehorse that just won the Kentucky Derby. He struggled to remember who he was while the aftershocks of pleasure continued rippling through him robbing him of the ability to speak or even breathe properly. He tasted copper saltiness on his tongue and the animal part of him growled with approval at the bite. She was his now. She belonged to him. When his brain had recovered from the pleasure haze he would fight that statement, but for now, in this one moment, the animal inside growled its dominance and ownership over the female beneath him.

At last he pried his teeth away from the bite he had inflicted and gently nuzzled the slight wound with his nose and lips, humming softly in his throat as he kissed the pain away before dragging his lips up her neck and claiming her mouth for a deep, firm kiss that robbed her of all her breath.

"Not bad wild-man. Not bad at all." She rasped, when he let her mouth go and slowly sat up and rolled off of her. All the aches and pain from the last twenty four hours came back to greet him with a vengeance, however the balm of the post-orgasmic bliss dripped down his skin and now all he wanted was to collapse into a warm bed with her and just sleep for the next six months.

"Better than your little screw around with Glenn?" he asked. He couldn't help himself. It was almost like shooting himself in the foot but he had to know.

She fixed him with a mischievous green-eyed gaze. "You have no idea how much better. Glenn was a tryst. It meant nothing. Even then."

"You said sex was just a distraction for you…" he trailed off quietly, struggling to get the words out. Partly because he was still out of breath and still basking in the warmth of the afterglow, and partly because he was worried about what she would say.

"With people I don't care about. I care about you." She spoke firmly, as though the truth of that statement might actually be in question.

"Really now?" he teased lightly, the words rumbling in his throat.

She crawled over to him and straddled his lap again, running her calloused fingertips up and down his back and shoulders, leaning her forehead against his. He could taste her warm breath and smell her scent and another coil of desire stretched and loosened inside his flesh but it was quieted when she ducked her head into the hollow of his throat and puffed a warm breath against his chest.

He looked down at her for a moment until she raised her head to him again and he nuzzled her cheek, feeling sleepy, contended warmth stealing through him. He ran his fingers through her hair, lazily kissing her again before he realized there was still something on his mind.

"Will you tell me your name now?" he asked quietly, pulling away from her so he could look into her eyes.

She smiled at him and curled her fingers through his hair. "Why? I'm not the same then as I am now. I am who you have made me." She whispered.

He shook his head. "You are who you are, who you have always been. Just more now." He whispered against her skin. "Tell me your name. Please." He breathed right against her ear, the warm husky puff of air making her shiver wonderfully.

She shook her head. "No. I won't lose you. Not after this." She whispered against the skin of his jaw, gently pressing her lips to the sensitive flesh she found there.

He was too warm and too tired to fight her about it. Her fingers twined through his hair as his cheek rested against her chest, listening to the steady drumbeat of her heart. He inhaled the musk of her skin and concentrated on the little tingles running through him where her nails lightly scratched his scalp.

They both knew their moment of bliss was winding down. The sun was rising and becoming brighter and more insistent that they move, and even with its light the wind picked up and chilled their naked skin. She spent some time lazily running her fingertips along the ropes of his scars causing pleasant currents of sensation to roll through his flesh. In turn he traced the edges of her tattoo, gently rolling off of her so he could better see it.

"What's it mean?" he asked quietly.

Her lips twitched in a small smile as she leaned away from him a little to look down at herself, letting her messy, tangled air fall down her shoulders, causing her skin to appear even paler than it was. He watched her with a hungry stare as he also sat up, not minding he was streaked with moist earth and that he probably looked like he'd wrestled with a mountain lion. He had never minded that.

"Fire helped us survive. Fire became our life, and in turn, our death. Humans are singularly known for taking a good thing and pushing it past its boundaries until it destroys what we have tried to build. And yet, somehow, we rise from the ashes of the destruction we have wrought." She raised her left arm and on her ribs he saw two lines of ink that were slanted upward that as he read she spoke in a soft, almost crooning voice. "Ever we die, ever we rise."

When she brought her head back down she looked at him more calmly now, almost bashfully. "The yin and yang is for me and my sister. She was the yin, the dark side. Cool, soft, yielding, gentle and beautiful, and of the night."

"And the yang?" he asked quietly.

"Associated with the sun and fire, hot and aggressive, unyielding and strong." She bent her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, looking at him with a calculating gaze. "Most people believe they are opposing forces, but that's a misinterpretation. One cannot exist without the other."

He nodded. Not that he'd ever really looked into all of that Eastern philosophy stuff, but it was basic human nature. If you didn't understand one end of the spectrum, you couldn't value the other. His brother had beaten that one into him as a kid. There could be no strength without weakness, no triumph without failure.

She maneuvered herself against him, sitting in his lap, softly kissing his lips with playful pressure, but he could tell she was seeking more. He pulled back a little and traced the bite he had inflicted on her neck and felt a sting of regret.

"I'm sorry." He murmured against her skin, letting his calloused fingers trace the small of her back, leaning his face into her neck and shoulder.

"Don't be. I like it." She crooned softly, letting the words rumble in her throat.

"It's almost like a Walker bite…" he trailed off feeling ashamed of himself that he'd hurt her and he remembered the copper taste of her blood on his tongue. He really hadn't meant to be so rough, he had just been so overwhelmed with all of the sensations ripping through him like a tidal wave that his teeth had clenched on her skin when he'd come undone.

She trailed her fingers up his neck and throat to his chin, forcing him to look up at her. "Hey. Don't go finding some other reason to avoid me now. I won't stand for it." There was a dark light shining in her eyes now, and it made the animal in him wake up again and curl its tongue around hungry, lusty teeth.

He growled in his throat as her fingers tightened in his hair again. "What will you stand for?" he asked, blue eyes flashing like burning coals.

"This." She grated the word between her teeth and then her hands slid from his hair to cup his face.

They met in the middle for a hard kiss, teeth and tongue clashing as they furiously tried to dominate the other. It was always serious, but it was also a game, a game they both desperately wanted to win. One of her hands left his cheek and splayed down his chest and belly before curling around his rapidly returning arousal and he all but came unglued, mentally and physically. He didn't even know where the energy for all this came from, but it didn't matter. The only thing he could think about was wrestling her back down to the dark forest floor and driving them both over the ecstasy cliff for a second time.

"We…don't have…time." He managed to say through gritted teeth as she worked him over, expertly driving every sane and rational thought out of his head with a razor sharp focus.

"We might die tonight. Then we really won't have time." She panted against his jaw, teeth nipping just enough to send electric bolts of pleasure deep into his flesh.

He growled in agreement and took her back down to the forest floor, inhaling more of that absolutely intoxicating aroma of woodsy perfume and the dark all consuming scent of her hunger.


	25. Chapter 25

**_Hello my wonderful readers and reviewers. Back again with another update for you. I'm hoping that I can keep this pace of quick updates going, but I have almost entirely exhausted my stock of reserve _****_chapters and school is taking up a lot more time than I thought. I will do my best to not drag out the wait too long, thank you for sticking with me so long, and enjoy! _**

**chef-carlitos**: _That was amazing. No words._

Aww thank you!

**WinterIsComing1015**:_ *lights a cigarette* Good God, *points lazily* you. I'm drained. I don't even have the energy to type our your name. That was so worth it. Am I dirty for saying I think I had a tiny orgasm reading that? Holy shit. *puffs cigarette, arranges bedsheets* I just - goddamn. Shit. That was incredible. I feel like I had sex with Daryl myself. I - shit. That was amazing. Amazing. I just... *chain lights second cigarette* Good night. Shit. P.S. Is there a piece of art that you got the tattoo from? I want to see it. It sounds awesome._

*plucks cigarette from your fingers and takes a drag, blowing smoke your way* Mmmm, I'm glad you liked it. And I'm so relieved it was worth the wait, I hate it when stories drag out the inevitable lemon and then leave something to be desired. It was tough finding a balancing act between graphic and subtle, letting the imagination wander to fill in all of the wonderful details. *breathes another stream of smoke* And you're not dirty at all, just honest, and I like that ;) And the tattoo, I knew I wanted Fox to have one (and not just a small one, cause Fox never does anything subtly, lol) so when looking for designs, I just did some google searches to see what different images would look like on actual skin. I made the image something very personal to Fox; in some ways she wants to see herself as a phoenix, burning bright and exploding into flame, powerful and beautiful, and most importantly able to rise again from the ashes of her mistakes. The "ever we die, ever we rise" line was my own creation. *takes the last drag on the cigarette and switches off the lights* Glad you enjoyed yourself, looking for more soon ;)

**ry123red**:_ I totally wasn't expecting Fox and Daryl's scene at the end of the chapter! It completely took me by surprise, but still fit with the plot. After such a close brush with death, the progression of the relationship actually made sense. It was beautifully written, and was full of intense emotion. Great job! I can't wait to read the next chapter._

I'm so glad you liked it, I was worried that I had misplaced it. I originally had it much further ahead in the story but then a few days ago I overhauled some of the plot so I had to rearrange things, and overall I felt it would fit much better here so I'm glad my wonderful readers seem to agree =D I was going for a combination of emotional plus steamy, but definitely more on the emotional side and that seems to have come through so I'm pleased =)

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _You know I never thought about Foxes age I'd been so obsessed with getting to know her name I hadn't thought about it, but on that note how old is Daryl in your mind, like how much of an age difference is there. Again I'm in a hurry I have Ju Jitsu practice to get to so I'm gonna go now. Until next time. -Kat_

In my mind Daryl's 30, (even though Norman Reedus is in his 40s, would you EVER believe it just looking at him? I certainly wouldn't!) so there is an 11 year gap between the two of them. It seems like a lot, but my own parents are 10 years apart and I really do believe age is just a number. As long as everyone is a consenting adult and they're equal to each other emotionally and mentally, the years you've walked the planet don't make much of a difference.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**:_ Finally! I was honestly shocked when I read that she is only nineteen! I had to re-read it a few times. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I can't help constantly saying that I love the relationship between Fox and Daryl and I love her tattoo! I also really like how you made Daryl have all these animal instincts. It was very clever. Amazing chapter as always, cannot wait for the next!_

Aye, little Fox is only 19, not even legal to drink yet. But she's seen enough of the world to more than put her on the same mental and emotional level as Daryl which is why it doesn't seem like she's so much younger. She grew up fast and took care of her sister, making her more adult like than someone would be ordinarily at her age, and that's also part of the reason why she bonded so strongly with her group in LA because for the first time she was allowed to just be a teenager and to do teenage things instead of always having the pressure of looking after someone else. In order to gauge how I thought Daryl would react to at last having sex with Fox, I dug through the episodes of the show and noted how he reacted in other really emotional situations. He seemed to…not regress…but he wasn't as complicated in some ways. He seems to sink down into a simpler, animalistic part of himself in that moment and then process it later. (there's a wonderful moment in Season 3 that really illustrates this but I won't spoil it just in case you haven't seen it).

**hayleyjune13**: _Oh yes,lol! I say it just as much as you do it seems! OH HOT DAMN! Made my day! :)_

Haha, I'm glad! I always love it when my readers respond so positively to my work, especially in potentially touchy scenes like this.

**Emberka-2012**: _How beautiful Daryl and Fox made this new for them step. Finally, they realized how much they need each other._

I know, about damn time eh? lol. I think for Fox she's become much more conscious of the way she needs Daryl in her life. Daryl I think still is a little bit less aware, but definitely more so than he was prior to this. When he comes too so to speak, I think he'll try and deny it because old habits die hard. But little by little, Fox can tear that scar tissue off of him I think. We shall see ;)

**FanFicGirl10**:_ H.O.T! D.A.M.N! Thank you so much for that! Beast Chapter Yet ;) I just want to know, why does Fox say she will lose Daryl if he knows her real name? Intersting! Update Soon!_

Fox believes that her name is a jinx, that if someone knows it they will disappear from her life. It's an irrational fear, and she realizes this, but it's not enough to change her mind. Also, she truly believes that she is a different person from when she last used her name and who she is now. Daryl argues that she is who she's always been. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

**Emerald Gaze**: _well i guess the proper response would be finally it's nice to see them finally overcome that final barrier between them and that river/waterfall scene really helped push them over the edge. what can i say, i'm happy for them. and hopefully now daryl wont be so nervous. plus now when everyone thinks they're having sex they'll probably be right (though this might piss off shane a bit more if he finds out since he can't have the woman he wants or fox, oh that would be great)!_!_

Oh its certainly not the final barrier, but it was definitely one of the largest ones that they had to overcome for sure. The scene with the river made both of them more aware of what they mean to each other but I think Fox is more consciously aware of it than Daryl is. Daryl still needs a little coaxing to admit how much he cares for her. Notice the L word hasn't come up yet, there's a reason for it and I can't wait to get to the moment when they address that particular issue too. His biggest accomplishment is realizing that he's not resisting all of these feelings anymore. He still is unsure about them, but he wants to keep going anyway. That takes a hella lot of guts (coming from someone who has experience in these matters). And yes, the whole camp thinks that they've been having sex for quite some time now, because in this day and age, what two people of opposite sex that aren't related share a tent or a room for that long and not eventually at least try it? And you know it did occur to me a while back ago Shane's continually antagonizing advances on Fox could be interpreted as some misdirected sense of lustful wanting. And I think for him he sees her as a challenge he would have to conquer and overcome, and it definitely does burn him up to know that someone like Daryl (who he sees neither as intelligent nor relevant) could 'conquer' her. Shane's obsession with Lori I think was first born out of true affection and maybe even love for her, but has lately become about what she represents- which is power. Rick draws his strength and his will to fight from her. If Lori were to 'switch sides' as it were and give her loyalty to Shane, it would in a way legitimize his right to lead the group. It's almost like the monarchies of old and the competition for the crown. Plus because Lori's pregnant, if she chooses Shane over Rick, she's giving Shane the power over her, Carl, and the unborn child. It's an absolutely fascinating dynamic to watch.

** vinny-nicole**:_ Love this story! I really want her name._

All things in time =)

**Scared-Heart**: _whoa...talk about true passion. but the river scene was my favorite part, it gave a lot about daryl when he jumped in without even thinking about it._

True indeed, although he would never be so straight forward about it. He doesn't quite realize yet exactly what Fox means to him, but he knows that he'd go further for her than for anybody else so far. And his real progress lies in him no longer fighting his emotions. He still doesn't quite understand them but he's not so worried about it anymore. And Fox of course continues to still be surprised at his loyalty and the depth of his affection for her.

**Unfeigned**: _I can't believe I forgot to put this on follow... I am apparently full 'o fail. You, however, are certainly not. :P This was fantastic and sexy and perfectly roll in the dirt romantic. Thanks for the update (s), and I will be waiting excitedly for the next one._

Haha, awesome, that is what I was going for! I so can't see someone like Daryl (or Fox for that matter) rolling in white sheets the first go around you know? They're both just too raw and wild for that.

**Jerrie Higarashi**: _Yesh! The fluff I was waiting for! I'm so glad that Daryl and Fox, finally had a fluffy moment! A very deep one at that! Lol. This chapter was amazing! Can't wait for the next update! Ciao!_

The fluff you and everybody else was waiting for! Sticky steamy fluff I might have to add XD. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

* * *

It appeared that nothing had happened in their absence, as everyone was still pretty much where they had left them by the time they returned. Daryl, for his part, did his best to keep his face passive as he always did, but inside his insides were writhing. It was an almost childish giddiness that rippled through him every time he made eyes at Fox as they came back into the cabin and gently set their weapons down before approaching the table where Rick lay, but the sight of their injured comrade reminded them of the gravity of the situation. Daryl bit the inside of his cheek to pull his head together and remind himself what exactly it was they were dealing with.

"Any change?" Daryl asked quietly as Fox hopped up on the counter opposite Shane. Daryl didn't miss the way she winced ever so slightly as she did so.

Benjamin now had a stethoscope out and was using it to listen to Rick's breathing before he answered, wrapping it around his neck like a professional doctor.

"He's stable. Breath and heart rate are good, blood pressure's within normal range. He should be fine as soon as he regains consciousness which won't be long. He's in REM sleep right now, but best not to wake him. He'll come to on his own."

"REM?" Daryl asked.

"Rapid Eye Movement." Benjamin said, bringing his attention to Rick's eyes, which were indeed flicking back and forth beneath his lids. "The state of sleep in which you dream."

Lori still hadn't let go of Rick's hand and Carl had kept his post right beside her. Shane was on the other side of the kitchen counter, dark eyes drawn tight with all different kinds of exhaustion.

Daryl was already chewing over Benjamin's proposition. It might have seemed like the last thing he would think about given the circumstances, but everything else could be sorted out later. As soon as Rick was awake and could focus, that was what was going to be on the table, and he'd like to know where he stood when the time came to debate. He gave the kid a once over with his eyes, noting the way Benjamin picked up on it immediately, shirking away from him and fidgeting a little. He opened up his senses and really took him in, letting his intuition guide him.

The kid wasn't dangerous, at least not in the same way someone like Daryl or Shane was dangerous. If push came to shove in a fight, Daryl couldn't see him going for the jugular. How he might be against Walkers was a different story entirely, he'd seemed pretty eager to not confront them back in the woods. But he had medical training, and he had supplies, supplies they desperately needed if they wanted to survive long term.

_Everybody ain't cut out to be a soldier _his brother had once told him. Daryl crossed his arms over his chest. That particular memory was not a pleasant one. Merle had been heading off to basic training and Daryl had insisted on joining up so they could go together, but Merle had shoved him back saying he wasn't cut out for it. Daryl had watched his brother go and once again felt the sting of being left behind. Left alone.

The sun had managed to push its rays through the cracks beneath the door, casting the wooden floor in sheets of pale gold and in response Benjamin turned off the lanterns. Just as he did so, Rick finally stirred, his eyes very slowly opening.

"Lori?" he rasped, throat constricting as he tried to speak.

"I'm here." Her voice was shaking with relief as a huge smile broke across her face as she pulled Rick's hand from her lap and gently kissed their interlocked fingers. Carl was also grinning.

"Hey Dad." He managed to say as he leaned his elbows onto the table.

"Carl." Rick blindly reached a hand for his son, cupping the boy's cheek and that was when he saw the IV line feeding into his arm.

"What is this?" he asked, looking around almost worriedly and that was when Shane hopped off the counter.

"We got you help man. Just like I said." Shane said with a nod. There was a smile on his face but Daryl could sense that it wasn't purely out of relief, and that something about it was just a little forced. It made his spine twinge uneasily. He didn't want to think dark thoughts like that about Shane but he wasn't going to ignore what his gut was telling him. He glanced at Fox who had her eyes locked on Shane as well and he knew then that she sensed it too.

"Who…how?" Rick questioned, already trying to sit up but that was when Benjamin came skittering over from where he'd been in the back room.  
"This is Benjamin. He found us right after you went under." Fox explained softly, nodding towards the kid. She hadn't moved from the counter, and her fingers were biting with ferocious force into the wood, her eyes almost exclusively watching Shane, and Shane was starting to watch back. As soon as he looked at her, she pulled her gaze away and Daryl's heart beat harder in his chest. He wouldn't let it show though. Whatever it was he was thinking or feeling, he had no proof of anything that might have happened. Rick was awake, that was all that mattered at this point.

"Benjamin?" Rick asked, turning his head on the table and again trying to sit up. Lori made to stop him but Benjamin wormed his way into the already crowded kitchen.

"It's alright, let him sit up." He said, and that was when he unfurled a blood pressure cuff and strapped it onto Rick's injured arm.

"You're a doctor?" Rick questioned. More of his natural voice was coming back and his eyes were clearing from their woozy, half dreaming glaze but he still wasn't quite there.

"Med-student. Or was before the dead crawled out of their graves and started eating people." He spoke in a faster clip and his face grew serious as he took the readings on the blood pressure cuff while Rick tried not to wince from the pressure applied. When Benjamin finally released the pressure he set the cuff aside and a small smile graced his face.

"Well Rick, I gotta say, you are extraordinarily lucky. Despite severe blood loss and hack job of a surgery I think you're going to be ok. Blood pressure's good, any numbness in your limbs, any dizziness?"

Rick shook his head. "No, I feel ok actually, but what do you mean surgery?" He looked carefully at Lori and at Carl and then back at Benjamin who now seemed a little anxious. His New York accent came through stronger as he answered, something Daryl had noticed happened when he got nervous.

"The bear's claws nicked your spleen in several places. Your friends helped keep the bleeding under control so I could take it out before you could bleed to death. There's consequences to that but you would have died for certain otherwise."

"What consequences?" Lori demanded, her face immediately tightening with anxiety.

"He'll be more at risk for certain infections, things like pneumonia and bronchitis, so I hope you don't smoke, because you'd pretty much have to give it up at this point." For his part the kid kept his voice smooth and calm and Daryl could understand why. Lori didn't pose nearly as much of a physical threat as someone like Shane or Daryl, or even Rick despite the fact he was all but lashed down to the table.

"Thank you for this." Rick said heavily as the full weight of what had happened seem to hit him. "If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

The kid's eyes lit up like the night sky on the fourth of July and his accent came through even stronger as he seemed to become giddy with excitement.

"I was hoping that I could go back with you to your camp. It's just been me in this cabin for almost three months. All of the food is gone and winter is no joke around here. I'll help you out in any way I can, I'll bring all of my medical supplies."

Rick's eyes immediately became narrow and calculating. "Give us a minute alone, hm?" he asked. Benjamin nodded, barely disguising his hopefulness and disappeared down the hall again. Rick's shoulders bent forward as he took a deep breath in as if trying to clear his head from a bad hangover. It seemed to hurt a little but Daryl wasn't surprised. The force they'd had to exert on his chest to keep his side from bleeding would be enough to make anybody sore.

"How long have I been out?" Rick asked, glancing at the group around him.

"About six hours." Shane said quietly. "When you went down in the woods, we brought you here and the kid patched you up and afterwards Daryl and Fox went to get Lori and Carl."

"In the middle of the night?" Rick demanded, looking at Daryl with surprise.

Daryl shrugged. "Figured they should know. They're your blood."

Rick nodded and leaned into his wife's arms for a moment even as he ruffled Carl's hair. "Thank you." He whispered, kissing the top of his son's head before letting out a long breath. Daryl didn't miss the way Fox's eyes shimmered with the acknowledgement even if Rick didn't directly look at her.

"So what about the kid?" Shane questioned as Rick slowly let his wife and son go and rolled his shoulders uncomfortably trying to loosen the stiffened flesh.

"Is he dangerous?" Rick asked, glancing at them all for an answer.

Fox shook her head. "He's a jack rabbit. He had the drop on us when you first went down but a few barks and he backed off."

"He seems harmless. The only time he seems to have a spine is if someone's on the table. Otherwise I'm pretty sure a stiff wind would get the best of him." Daryl agreed, leaning up against the counter next to Fox. The desire to lean against her and feel her skin on his was strong but he refrained.

"Shane? What do you think?" Rick asked.

"I think he's useful, but we don't know him. He said he's a shitty shot with the rifle that he has, but even if that were true, he came all the way from New York City up here. I'm sure he had to deal with at least Walkers, if not worse. So, I'm not sure how harmless he really is." The man's voice was dark and his eyes were downcast before looking Rick in the face.

"But he has medical training. And we need that desperately." Lori said quietly. Unconsciously her eyes ducked down to her belly and Daryl knew that she was thinking about months down the road when she'd need help delivering. No one at camp had wanted to voice those concerns, least of all the expecting parents, but they might have gotten one lucky break with this kid.

Rick's eyes were heavy with the weight of the decision. The last time they'd taken someone new into the group it had been Maggie and Beth, both of them relatively harmless, and at first the trade off had been giving them a place to stay. When Fox had come into the fold…that hadn't been such a smooth transition. But the kid was nothing like Fox, Daryl couldn't sense one bit of spite or vice in him and normally his senses for that kind of thing were sharp.

"He comes with us. We'll keep a close eye on him for a while, but we can't afford to let this one go." Rick answered finally.

Lori and Carl grinned with relief and hugged him gently while Shane shrugged his shoulders. Fox's lips twitched into a small smile and while Daryl remained passive in his expression, he was glad inside. Hopefully the kid could prove to be of use and not just an extra mouth to feed.

"I'll go give Benjy the good news." Fox said as she hopped off the counter and disappeared down the hall. There were only two other rooms in this place, the bedroom that Benjamin had been keeping to himself, and a rather large larder that had once been stocked to the brim with shelf stable food and water and now the only thing that remained were crates and boxes of medical supplies. Bandages, tiny vials of medicine, sterile needles, some equipment, bags of saline and O-neg, antibiotics, the works; she found Benjamin doing an inventory with a small notebook and pen, talking softly to himself. When he heard Fox's boots tap the threshold of the room, he almost jumped out of his skin, dropping his pen as he half yelped in surprise.

"Jesus Christ you scared me." He said as he bent down to pick up his pen, his messy hair falling into his eyes. As he stood up he shakily pushed it out of his face and she chuckled softly at the nervous tension running up and down his skin. In another life he would have been fun to play with and after she'd conned him into buying her at least two or three drinks she'd of danced long and slow with him, propositioning him for a few glasses of wine at his place before she'd take him to bed and show him a thing or two he wouldn't find in an anatomy text book. But now…now she had something far better waiting for her in the next room, and a pleasant shiver rolled down her spine at the thought.

"It's your lucky day kid. Rick says you can come with us." She leaned casually up against the doorframe and smiled at him, knowing that it probably freaked him out but she couldn't resist screwing with him just a little.

He let out a shaky laugh before stuffing the notepad and pen in the pocket of his jacket. "Really?" he asked, noting the mischievous smile toying with Fox's lips and becoming slightly nervous at the sight.

"Yep. Of course we'll have to keep an eye on you, we've come a long way and it's just been us and the people we have back at camp, and we don't always take kindly to outsiders." Her husky voice dropped to a low, almost feral tone. "And some of us don't play nice." She hissed, coming forward, getting very close to him. "Some of us like to bite!" She clicked her teeth just a hair's breath from his face, causing him to yelp and scrambled backwards, knocking over a few empty boxes as he collapsed in a tangle of limbs and cardboard. She laughed wildly as he cursed, picking himself up and kicking one of the boxes out of his way.

"Someone call for a psych consult and a straight jacket." He muttered as he stalked out of the room while Fox all but died with laughter, leaning against the doorframe as she struggled to catch her breath.

When she came back into the front room Lori, Carl, and Shane were headed for the back porch to clean off with some of the fresh water that Benjamin had left, Benjamin himself was flopped onto the sofa in the front room of the cabin, and Daryl was by the door taking care of his crossbow, making sure all of the parts were in working order, meticulously handling the weapon, inspecting every little piece. Fox approached Rick where he was still on the table and only now very carefully removed his python from where she'd stashed it during the night in one of the cupboards below the counter.

"Figured you'd might want this back." She said as he sat up and she placed the gun in his hands. He turned it over as if he almost wasn't sure it was real before carefully setting it aside and then looking at her.

"You took my gun?" he asked. There might have been an accusation in his voice, but the question was more prominent.

She rolled her shoulders at his razor sharp gaze. "When you went down and Benjy first showed up, he had a rifle trained on us. Daryl was trying to stop the bleeding in your side and Shane had a tourniquet on your shoulder. I was the only one with hands free." She explained.

He tilted his head at her. "But you don't use guns." He said quietly.

She nodded. "True. But when push came to shove, I wasn't going to let anybody else get hurt." She let out a quiet breath and tried not to remember the echoes of bombs dropping, the screaming of her friends as fire consumed them, the snarl of the unrelenting horde as they fled for their lives.

Rick let out a long breath. "Thank you for protecting us." He gently touched her hand, still bloody fingers curling slowly around hers, an indication to stay.

"I did what you or Shane or Daryl would have done. That's all." She said quietly.

"I know." Rick said with firm nod. "You're one of us. Just like they are."

She smiled and even in his hazy, exhausted state, he could see it was genuine. "Thank you." She whispered. She pulled her hand loosely from Rick's grip and made to walk away but then she dipped her hand into the inside pocket on her jacket, checking to make sure what she had stashed there hadn't fallen out, letting out a short breath of relief when she still felt it.

"Maybe we should ask the kid to look at it." She mentioned after checking to make sure no one was paying attention, taking the chain and its pendant out of her pocket, slipping it around her neck, and then beneath her shirt. She'd put it in her pocket during the night while she'd changed out of her wet clothes at camp when they'd gone back to go get Lori and Carl. This particular pocket had a zipper to keep it closed because she knew that if she dropped this in the woods, she'd never find it.

"You think he'd be able to do something with it?" Rick asked softly.  
She shrugged. "I don't know. He has some equipment in the back, maybe he could look at it under a scope."

Rick paused for a moment and then shook his head. "No. We keep this out of sight." He hissed as he heard footsteps coming back down the hall from the backdoor. Fox nodded and stepped away from the table so Lori and Carl could resume keeping watch over him. As they did so, Benjamin came to join them.

"How soon before we can go back to camp?" Rick asked the med student.

"You won't be strong enough to travel for at least another day or so. But I don't have any food here." Benjamin responded worriedly.

"Breathe easy, Benjy." Fox said with a soft snicker of laughter, hopping off the counter and going to join Daryl where he had just finished loading a bolt into the crossbow. "We'll bring back dinner." She picked up her belt where she'd dropped it earlier in the night and strapped it back on, comforted by its weight in a way that only being armed to the teeth could make her feel. Daryl glanced her up and down and the approval was in his eyes before he nodded to Rick and slung his bow up over his shoulder. They shut the front door with a snap and made their way down the small cleared lawn before ducking back into the trees.

"Alright now, you can't be jumping me." He muttered as almost immediately after finding shelter beneath the canopy she had an arm curled around his, trying to sneak her hand into the front pocket of his jeans.

"Spoil sport." She teased with an eye roll before remembering where she was and softening the sound of her steps, paying mind to the ground beneath them as they looked for tracks or other evidence of small game that they could bring down for dinner.

"I have created a monster." He drawled as he paused for a moment on a fallen tree and surveyed the ground on the other side, catching sight of the slight imprints of a rabbit. That would be one thing the snow would be good for, the tracks of any animal, or Walkers, would be far more noticeable in the powder than in the soft, leaf littered earth beneath them now.

Fox crooned softly as she followed Daryl off the fallen tree in pursuit of their four-legged quarry. "Didn't hear you complaining earlier."

Daryl rolled his eyes but his skin shivered at the tone of her voice and he knew he agreed whole-heartedly. Jesus Christ, if they got caught like Glenn and Maggie had on several occasions…he'd never hear the end of it. The look she gave him as he glanced back at her was almost enough to undo him completely and to save what remained of his dignity he turned away and focused on the task at hand.

* * *

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit. How the hell did he explain this? The boss had said it would be right here, in this glass case, deep in the basement of the CDC. He'd risked his best team to come down to the hell hole crawling with biters and had damn near lost several of them on occasion. The doctor wasn't gonna be happy about this…not one bit.

He dug frantically through the shelves, ransacking the whole place hoping against hope someone had just misplaced it when hell broke loose, but it was to no avail. There was nothing there, nothing! Sweat glistened on his palms and on the back of his neck as the impending nervousness rolled through him. He leaned against the metal counter, staring at the broken glass that must have been where his prize had been waiting for him.

Alright, all he had to do was figure out what happened. Either someone had taken or it had been destroyed somehow when the CDC had gone down. They'd all seen the state of the city on their way in, it wasn't a stretch to think that in the panic someone had swiped it and lost it in the flurry. He tried to quiet his growing fear with that train of thought, but the problem was the hatchet over his neck. He'd sworn to the boss…promised him that it he could bring it back safe and sound. Now he had nothing. Nothing! If he came back empty handed, it would be his head on the chopping block. He could feel his chest tightening, his breathing getting difficult.

He lifted up his head and stared at the corner of the tiny laboratory's ceiling and he recognized the small device hanging there. A video camera. It's eye was long since dead and sightless but it was a vestige of his old life that he hadn't lost a certain wariness for. It was almost like an all seeing eye- never blinked, never shut, never dimmed. At least not until the dead had risen and ripped the fabric of their world to shreds. His mind churned over it for a few minutes and then his heart slammed like a freight train against his ribs. He might have a chance to fix this yet!

"Lieutenant!" he yelled, running up the stairs and busting through the lab door and down the hall where his men were waiting for him.

"Yes sir?" the man drawled with his loose, easy smirk that spoke volumes about what a hot shot cocky bastard he really was, but he had the guts and the brawn to back it up, so nobody ever tried to get that smirk off his face.

"Do our laptops still have power?" he demanded.

"Yes sir. Haven't used them for several days, everything's been powered down to save battery life." He shifted his weight restlessly as if uncomfortable with being in this tight metal box deep underground.

"Good, find the security booth of this place and get me every surveillance disc they have. Every single one, from as far back as you can."

"The power in this place has been down for months. How much do you expect to see?" he questioned.

"Your man on the inside, he said he and his group were here, yes?" he demanded hotly.

"Yes sir." His lieutenant answered, realizing his boss wasn't about to be trifled with. Apparently whatever he'd been looking for in the lab hadn't been there.

"Then I need to know if they got their sticky hands on our weapon! Now get going and find the discs!" he snarled, shoving his lieutenant in the chest to get him moving, the rest of the men following close behind, guns still drawn warily as they left their commander breathing heavily in the hall, sweat still pricking down his back. He had one shot to fix this screw up. One chance. He wasn't going to blow it. If this rogue group had broken in and claimed what belonged to them….he'd hunt them to the end of the earth and back to retrieve it, and to hell with whoever got in his way.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Alright my wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again! It's been a rough couple of days, going through some personal stuff, but the show must go on and seeing all of your gorgeous reviews in my inbox really makes even the bad days so much better. Enjoy guys!**_

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Mm Daryl can create a monster out of me anytime! And loved the sweet moment between Fox and Rick. Ok, about the military guys searching for the pendant...obviously their connect is Shane. *Flips NY Yankees hat to the front* now, see, son, Shane fake as fuck yo. that shit is MAD wrong yo! I hope he get TOUCHED out in'nem streets, B. fuh real!_

Mmm, Shane, Shane, Shane, whatever will we do with you eh? Going the right way to gettin' lynched if my reviewers are anyway to judge. Hehehe, this should be fun to see how it plays out, the destiny I have laid out for him. Looking forward to bringing it to you guys. And yes, I felt that Fox deserved a little reprieve with Rick cause she has worked hard for her place in the group.

**Emberka-2012**: _Good Rick woke up. Benjamin did a nice job._

Benjy knows what he's doing, more than he thinks he does. He's an invaluable for his skills as a medic and now that he's saved Rick's life, he pretty much has the golden ticket.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Well good that Rick is getting better! :) I love that Fox keeps teasing Daryl ;) Uh oh who the hell is that? I really want to know soon! Maybe Merle? Please Update Soon!_

Rick's a tough cookie, he wasn't gonna give up that easy. And yes, now that Fox has gotten a taste of our favorite redneck, she ain't gonna let him get away so easily, lol. Oooh, you'll just have to wait and see! ;)

**hayleyjune13**: _Hot damn._

Always ;)

**Emerald Gaze**: _Well this sounds like it could be the govners people to me. And l'm thinkin that really is merle though i would expect him to have talked more about daryl. Though i suppose that if he found out in their first convo that daryl was ok then he wouldn't really need to check up that often. As for daryl he's gonna have his hands full with his horny little teenage girlfriend, i cannot tell u how amusing that is to think of especially after his initial reaction... i wonder what the others would think. I would luv to see shane feel like a total pedo for trying to go after her!_!_

Mmm, you'll just have to wait and find out who's creeping around the CDC now in search of Rick's little trinket. And yes, Daryl already had his hands full with Fox before, now that she knows what she's been missing she's guaranteed to be even worse XD. But then again, she doesn't really act like she's nineteen does she? And I don't think Shane would even feel like a pedo at this point because he's so far gone that he barely cares about anything anymore, or he can twist anything to make it seem justified.

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Hmm what is this thing Fox and Rick are hiding, Is Daryl going to get over his giddiness, and who are these new people, And will Fox ever reveal her name? All of these questions and more will be answered next update... Actually, probably not cuz your mean like that and make us wait, lol no waiting for answers is good cuz it makes us all squeal with joy when we see you updated, oh thats just me...okay then. I'm gonna go and take my awkward-ness with me. Up up and away! -Kat_

Mmm, this shared secret between Rick and Fox- more of that dynamic will come into play later. I'm writing as fast as I can because I want you guys to see it so much, trust me, it's not just you that's squirming with anticipation. And yes, Daryl will overcome his giddiness, he's not given to such playful emotions very often, but who wouldn't feel a little bubbly after all of that? And yes, Fox will eventually give up her name, but not without a good reason, and not without a fight. Lol, it's not awkwardness at all, its excitement, and I completely love it. I get the same way when I reply back to all your wonderful reviews =D

**Scared-Heart**: _you should create a girl for shane to get involved with, so when his buddies come after them to get back their trinket that rick took, they can take her and shane can feel like a shitty asshole and realize how much of flea bitten douche he is. and at the same time maybe his connection can help his inner turmoil. but im thinking camp is in for a shake up, if shane gives up their position. shane wanted to be responsiple for the camp and everyones lives...well...now in a way he is. have fun!_

Camp is most definitely in for a shake-up and it will have to do directly with Shane I can promise that but no more than that. Shane's going to have a lot to answer for very soon and I'm looking forward to bringing all of that to you guys. Ahhh, I can't wait until you see what I have in store!

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _Okay, I really was not expecting the ending of this chapter...I love all the twists you add in this story. It keeps me on the edge of my seat. Amazing writing as usual. Can't wait for next chapter!_

I always try to do my best. I don't want to give too much away until I'm ready to drop the bombshells which will be coming very soon. I can't wait until that moment. ;)

**Jerrie Higarashi**: _Fox and Daryl...cutest couple ever :) She's such a damn tease lol! I'm really excited that Benjamin is joining the team now! He's gonna be of BIG help! Finally Rick's okay! Whew! Thought you were gonna kill him off for a second! Anyways, this chapter was beyond gold! You're amazing! You should know that! :DDD_

Haha, you never can tell who is on the chopping block and who might catch a lucky break. And yes, Benjy will prove to be an invaluable asset to the group and Rick knows this, which is part of the reason why he let him come into the group. And yes, Fox really is a tease. Now that she's broken Daryl in so to speak, she wants him all that much more. I hope I continue to keep you hooked in! =D

**Kaleiburzz**: _You... You are just... So, I'm looking at the clock right now; it's a little past three a.m. I literally could not put down my phone finishing this. You are fucking BRILLIANT. This is exactly what I have been looking for. A good Daryl story with a skillfully written heroine with DEPTH. Most other authors cheat and go strictly off the show; no creativity! Honestly! Please update soon. I absolutely beg of you._

Well hi there new reviewer, how awesome of you to drop in! Three am huh? You are too kind- but in all honesty, it really makes me feel amazing and want to be as great of a writer as I can be to be worthy of such praise. I do what I can to make my story actually worth reading, and I'm so glad that it seems to be working. =D

* * *

"If I see another freaking flake of snow in my tent so help me God I will superglue the zipper shut and never come out again!"

"Seeing sunshine and daisies this morning Glenn?" Fox snickered where she sat around the fire nursing a cup of strongly brewed coffee from underneath a fleecy blanket that she kept wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

The Asian looked almost cranky enough to flip her off but instead refrained and flopped down across from her and dished himself and Maggie a small plate of breakfast, teeth all but chattering as he reached for silverware from the small box by the fire.

It was mid February and winter in the Catskills had hit hard. The first snow had touched the ground in early November and since then it had only gotten colder, snowing at least once or twice a week, huge drifts piling up and making getting anything done around camp twice as hard as it used to be. It also required almost twice as much food to keep everyone going. Daryl was going hunting almost three times a week, not just for rabbits or other small animals, but big game like deer. A daily chore was splitting logs for firewood and smashing the ice on the shore of the lake to collect freshwater because inevitable overnight it would freeze again. They never let the fire die anymore because dry kindling was so hard to come by and it helped to give light to whoever was on lookout during the night. The winter nights were far darker than anyone could have anticipated, even if the moon was full and glinting down onto the snow making it shimmer like a blanket of silver diamonds.

"If you're getting cold at night, get another layer of leaves to insulate the tent." Rick muttered from where he was finishing off his own cup of coffee. They were almost out of grounds and if they wanted more they'd have to make a run into the town over the next valley. They usually didn't risk trips that far away from camp unless it was absolutely necessary, and unfortunately for almost everyone at camp, coffee in and of itself didn't qualify.

"Yay, more wet blankets." Benjamin muttered from where he was rubbing crust out of his eyes as he emerged from his own tent.

The medic had been accepted into camp more or less painlessly after he'd helped Rick recover from his injury and continued to provide his medical skills to anybody who needed them. He was about as tough as wet tissue paper when it came to a fight, more than once going almost completely boneless when they'd come across Walkers in the woods, proving several times that he really was a shitty shot with his rifle as his bullets went wide and pinged off of trees and ice covered rocks while the stiffs staggered towards them, ice cracking on their limbs as they opened ruined jaws to try and tear them to pieces. They ran across them about once a week but never in groups of more than two or three, and there were no signs of a herd within a ten-mile radius of camp. Even the town they were using to scavenge for supplies was almost empty.

"If you do it right there's no way that you'll get cold." Daryl said as he swallowed down a salty cud of jerky. The last of the fresh meat had been cooked already, divided up between the members of camp last night evenly, but both Rick and Shane had offered up their portion to Lori who despite herself greedily wolfed it down. Her swollen belly was more and more prominent every day, and as each day passed, the tension between Rick and Shane grew worse. It was abundantly clear that with how far along Lori was that the baby she was carrying could only be Shane's. Daryl had done the mental math a while back- the outbreak had struck in the middle of May. The original survivors from Atlanta had banded together around the same time at the quarry once they'd seen the fires burning in city, and Daryl assumed that Lori and Shane had been screwing around since roughly the same time. Rick hadn't showed back up until mid June, almost a month later. According to Benjamin, after careful examination of Lori's condition, the baby would be due within the next month or so. Rick was a month too late for the baby to be his, and as Lori's pregnancy progressed, Shane had become more and more possessive, insisting he stay and look after Lori and help her with things around camp, encroaching on Rick's place as Carl's father when the man was away, blatantly going behind the man's back and teaching Carl how to shoot a gun despite the fact that Rick and Lori had made it clear that they didn't want their son knowing how to handle a weapon. Daryl disagreed with the idea that the kid wasn't old enough or responsible enough to handle a gun, but he understood why they were both frustrated with Shane. Carl was their son, not his. Daryl wondered if Rick was considering letting Shane have more control over what happened to the child that would soon be born into this world, since it would have Shane's blood. He wondered if Rick would hang on to that semblance of the old world, or sink down into the more animalistic, ruthless rules of this new one and fight for what was his by virtue of the woman who carried the baby. As thin as that tie might have been, Rick and Lori were still husband and wife, and Rick wasn't going to let her go, even if sometimes he was so disgusted at her that he couldn't look her in the face.

As bad as some of the members were doing, it was the exact opposite for the others. Glenn and Maggie had solidified their bond as they helped in the struggle for the group to survive through the brutal winter. The boy- who really was a man now- looked out for her and always made providing for her his first priority. She ate first, slept first, and if she ever needed anything, Glenn was always there to find it for her. In turn, Maggie showed him affection and stood by his side and never backed away from danger, fighting tooth and nail to protect him in a battle and even on the bad days when it was cold and sleeting and everyone was miserable, they still locked their fingers together and stayed close.

Andrea too had found a place in the group as an expert sharp shooter. Coupled with Shane's training and her will to make herself indispensible, she was now one of the best shots the group had. Even Daryl had been impressed at her level head and razor sharp focus and accuracy when under pressure. She was now one of the ones who almost without fail went on supply runs and took point or provided cover fire if necessary. Somewhere in the cold and hunger of the ravaging Northern winter she'd found the fight she'd lost since the day Amy had been brutally killed. Her only vice was the fact that if the day had been bad for Shane, if Lori had turned him away or if he'd gotten into a fight with Rick, she allowed him to come to her to work out his frustration. Dale certainly didn't approve of the two of them sleeping together and as he usually did, he took the opportunity to say something when he could, but as of late he had silenced most of his complaints. Not so much out of respect for Andrea's choices, but out of fear of driving her away. Rick relied on Dale to keep the camp running smoothly any time he was away for an extended period of time, but it wasn't lost on Daryl how much he usually made sure to always keep Shane with him at the same time. It was as if Shane needed almost constant watching over incase he try to start some kind of insurrection. More than once, when the weather had been truly horrific and their stomachs were ravenous he had tried to rally the group into bullying Rick into leaving camp and going back down South. Those had been very tense days.

Carol and Sophia had found a place in carrying for Lori and helping her do the chores around the camp that was necessary. Over the winter Carol had started training with the guns as well but she was considerably less talented than Andrea or even Carl. Daryl blamed it on her fear of the power in her hands. She would flinch every time the gun kicked in her palms and so the bullet would swing off target, and she had yet to fire off a shot without closing her eyes at the moment she pulled the trigger. Shane had been exasperated and had almost given up on teaching her but Daryl had stepped up to help after seeing her struggle on her own. She was doing a little better, but she still wouldn't be taking point any time soon. When Sophia wasn't helping Lori or her mother she spent her time with Carl exploring the woods around camp and helping the adults to map out the terrain of the surrounding areas. So far they'd discovered that three separate rivers that branched from a larger one up the mountain were feeding into their lake. Daryl had been keeping an eye on the predator situation on his hunts. The bears were all in their dens hibernating but the wolves were moving down from the mountain slopes seeking the remaining deer in the valleys. They could all hear the howls late in the night as they struggled to find prey or ward off other packs. Daryl had started setting traps and snares in the woods to try and ward them away from camp and more than once he'd caught Walkers rather than wolves. So far the animals hadn't crossed into camp yet, but they were getting closer. If Daryl didn't find evidence of a kill from them every week or so, he and Rick would light torch fires at the borders of the camp to help warn them away. So far they had never crossed the tree line, but spring was a long ways off and the deer were getting very hard to find indeed.

His and Fox's relationship had taken on a life of its own. It was almost as if after finally having sex with her he'd let go of the reins and was now riding a wild tiger without any means to hold on. Sometimes they could spend hours together in silence and not say a word and yet understand everything with just one glance at each other. Sometimes they went for patrols or hunts and they would talk for hours and she would tell him stories from her past and he would tell her of his, and they would draw conclusions about their own lives, the inner workings of the world, and how they'd found themselves where they were. At night around the campfire when the group pulled in close she would sometimes bring out the guitar and play songs to help keep the moral of the group up, doing duets with Maggie, the brunette's southern twang complimenting Fox's husky voice in a strange but pleasant way. And other times, Fox would lead Daryl out to the edge of camp and they would sit together under the cold, gleaming light of the moon and she would play and sing lyrics meant to be heard only by him. Songs about who she had been before the world had ended, about how he made her feel, and sometimes the echoes of the raw, barely healed over wounds from his past. It was all her interpretation, how he looked through her eyes and almost every time he was surprised and intrigued, desperate to know more. He loved to listen to her voice growl and croon low, dangerous words- they ignited something deep and primal in his soul and it would make his flesh burn no matter how cold it was.

As the winter had progressed they'd become intimately familiar with each other physically. He knew every inch of her skin like the back of his hand and just when he thought he had nothing new to learn about her, she surprised him with something else. A new position, a new way that she could twist and writhe against him to drive him absolutely wild, almost making him feral with need. Sometimes, not often, she would allow him the time to be gentle and to go slowly, gradually building up the desire and urgency between the two of them, like slowly stoking coals into embers and then into a blazing inferno. Most times there was only time for fast and hard and neither of them were going to complain. It wasn't just the dry, cold winter air that made their lips crack and bleed, it was their own teeth biting against the flesh to try and keep quiet and stop themselves from waking the entire camp. Lately though they'd both been deprived because they hadn't been able to make a run into town for condoms. She'd run out of her birth control back in December, causing her to crumple up in agony for three or four days once a month, and to also become a raving bitch _nobody _wanted to get near, and he was out of things to trade with Glenn to get access to the Asian's stash of rubbers. Although lately even Glenn and Maggie were looking frustrated and Daryl was beginning to wonder if they were out as well. Rick hadn't allowed a run into town for more than a month due to bad weather and needing people at camp which Daryl could understand, but the sheriff was about to have a riot on his hands if he didn't give them the chance soon. So far he and Fox had yet to be caught in the act but it was clear that some aspects of the world never changed- he'd heard her and Maggie snickering to each other as they did chores around the camp, shooting glances at Daryl and Glenn who would then look at each other with 'your guess is as good as mine' expressions. They never dared to venture a guess what it was the women were discussing, they didn't want to know.

Breakfast was winding down and everybody was getting ready to start the day's work. Daryl and Fox were headed back out into the woods to hunt and check the snares, Rick and Shane would be patrolling the southern border of their territory, Dale would be keeping watch over camp, Andrea and Benjamin would be collecting firewood, Carol would be tending camp with Lori, and Carl and Sophia would be headed into the woods to get as much dry leaf litter as they could. Each of the group's tents was covered in giant mounds of the vegetation, making them look like little caves made out of leaves. The layers were so thick no portion of the tent was visible anymore, just the dark entrance left open to allow them access inside that during the night they would cover with thermal blankets staked down to the ground and the fastened to the top of the tent to help seal in the heat. The heavy leaf litter provided excellent insolation against the freezing cold weather, even from moisture and snow but apparently it either needed replacing or additional layers to continue to be effective.

Fox finished scraping her plate and got up to her feet, folding the blanket she had around her shoulders and heading back to hers and Daryl's tent to put it away. Daryl was on the fringes of camp already with his crossbow across his back, quiver full of home made bolts stocked and ready to go. She grabbed her belt of knives and strapped it across her hips when she felt a presence behind her.

"You need something Benjy?" she asked as she went back to the campfire to help clean up a bit, stacking the dishes and setting them neatly in a pile to be washed later on, snapping several sticks and throwing them onto the fire to keep it warm.

"Yeah, I was just wondering about something…" he trailed off, his New York accent slipping through the words and then she turned to face him fully. He looked concerned and worried but also determined that he say what was on his mind, but she didn't want to get into it, not when Daryl was waiting on her.

"Benjy, listen, I'm kinda in a hurry, so whatever it is we can talk about it when I get back, ok?" she tried to pacify him but he didn't seem to want to let it go as evidence by the way he followed her when she tried to step away.

"Wait, please!" he asked, his hazel eyes more gold than green today as he stepped closer, within the range of being able to touch her. "I just wanted to know why you're with Daryl, that's all. I mean he's way older than you. And he's almost your polar opposite. And the way he stares at you…" he trailed off nervously, shooting an anxious look in the hunter's general direction.

Her eyes narrowed. "The way he stares at me what?"

He swallowed hard as if having to dare himself to say it. "It's like you're his dog or something. Like he expects you to stay at his heel." Now that he said it he seemed bolder. Especially when Daryl whistled across camp and beckoned for her to get going with a motion of his hand. She made a motion to wait and then turned back to Benjamin. She'd had a feeling that he'd ask her about this sooner or later and knowing the kid and his nervousness, it was bound to be later. Well later turned out to be today for some reason. It had been relatively obvious as soon as Benjamin started trying to make his place in the group that Daryl bothered him in not just a nervous way, but in a jealous way. Not that he really ever had the balls to show it until today apparently.

"You might want to keep your nose out of this. You don't know anything about us." She warned softly.

"I know that you shouldn't let him treat you like that." He stated firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. Tried as he might he couldn't look intimidating and she sighed to herself in almost amusement.

"Thanks for your concern Benjy, but it's completely unnecessary. Daryl just doesn't like to waste time. And neither do I. And if I were you, I wouldn't let him catch you trying to encroach on me. I know you're just trying to be a good guy and defend my independence, but trust me, you don't need to. I can do what I want, when I want, and neither he nor anybody else is going to stop me, alright?"

"Wanna say that a little louder?" Shane drawled coldly from where he was sharpening a knife on a piece of stiff leather. Benjamin immediately paled considerably and skittered back a few paces but Fox's grip on one of her daggers tightened.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she hissed coldly.

"Well everyone's doing an awful lot of name calling about me starting trouble when Rick ain't watching, maybe everybody else needs to be privy to everything _you _say and do as well." He growled, his dark eyes flashing menacingly.

Fox let out a half amused, half annoyed huff. "Well then." She said, unsheathing one of her daggers, twirling it in her fingers. "I think maybe you and I just need to brawl right in the middle of camp and settle our differences once and for all."

"Any time Foxy." Shane growled, tilting his head, a challenge written all over his face, baiting her to come at him.

Fox took a step towards him, completely ignoring Benjamin's all but whimpered pleas not to start shit. Fox smirked evilly and got right up into Shane's face, close enough she could have bitten him.

"As if I'd ever dream of sinking so low. Find someone else to pick a fight with, Shane. I'm bored." She growled before letting a wicked smirk cross her face and retreating, all but prancing through the snow towards Daryl's side.

"What was all that about?" The hunter demanded as they headed off towards the trees while Fox put her knife away.

"Shane starting trouble. Trying to anyway." She muttered, tossing her long braid behind her shoulders. Early in the month she had cracked the second bottle of dye Daryl had given her on their trip up after her hair was entirely pink except for the thick, multiple inches of regrowth at her roots. The strands were red again but already he could see the pink coming back. Roughing it out in the wild apparently didn't bode well for dyed hair, but she didn't seem to mind as much anymore.

"I know that bit, but what about with Benjamin." He questioned.

She chuckled. "He thinks you're an over-controlling, possessive asshole." She said as she picked her way through the icy roots of the trees to check their first snare.

Daryl snickered. That little pipsqueak would think that now wouldn't he? He hadn't been ignorant of the sometimes jealous looks Benjamin would shoot him across camp when Fox would stay near his side, or go off with him alone. If he'd of been a different kind of man he'd of felt annoyed or threatened, but at this point he really doubted that pretty boy could do a single thing to make Fox think twice about their relationship.

"Do you think I'm an over-controlling, possessive asshole?" he asked, his tone light and teasing.

Fox couldn't resist playing along. She slid up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders before snaking her palms down his chest and then squeezing his hips, dragging him back against her.

"Only when you won't let me stay on top." She grated in his ear.

"Woman, we will die of starvation if you keep this up." He growled as he tipped his head back, giving her access to his throat. She teethed the expose column of flesh for just long enough to make certain parts of his anatomy sit up and pay attention before darting away, circling around him and heading deeper into the woods.

"You're cruel to leave a man like that." He muttered as he tried his best to readjust his clothes, going so far to scoop up a handful of snow and pack it against his neck to quell the hot rush of blood spilling through him.

Fox snickered evilly as she stood just out of his reach. Her multitoned hair burned in the brief glimmer of pale sunlight that peaked through the trees, her green eyes sparkling like the snow. "I don't like going hungry." She teased and he rolled is eyes. God in heaven fucking help him as he watched her walk away she purposefully swayed her hips and let her jacket ride up as she crossed over a fallen tree so he caught a glimpse of the pale, smooth skin of her back that was marred by the slight imprint of his teeth from a few nights ago- she would be the death of him before too much longer.

* * *

The sun was starting to go down and the incessant mantra from his mother was ringing through Carl's ears.

_Be back before dark. Stay in one direction. If you see a Walker run, come straight back to camp. Stay close to the river. Look after Sophia, and be back before dark! _

"Sophia." Carl said, getting the girl's attention from where she was stuffing another handful of leaves into one of the large black trash bags they'd been hauling around.

"Yeah?" she asked, tucking a piece of short dirty blonde hair behind her ear to keep it from her face. She was panting from the day's trek but didn't look like she was frightened of the impending darkness.

"It's starting to get late, I think we should go back." He said, pulling his jacket tighter around him, feeling the little pistol in his pocket press tighter against him. It had six shots in it, enough to buy him and Sophia some time if they ran into trouble. So far they hadn't even seen a Walker in their hunts around camp looking for useful vegetation or in today's case, more dry leaves to insulate the tents.

Sophia looked up through spidery canopy of bare sticks towards the grey sky that was rapidly growing darker. The temperature was beginning to drop and Carl could see his friend's hands starting to shake from chill.  
"Yeah. I don't need Mom having a heart attack for nothing." She agreed. She hefted the black bag of leaves over her shoulders and Carl took the other and began to lead them down towards the embankment to follow the river back to the lake and to the safety of camp.

"Do you think it's going to snow again tonight?" Sophia asked as they started to make their way to the hill. They had climbed it earlier in the day when there was more light hoping the elevation would offer dryer leaf litter than down by the river.

Carl glanced at the sky again. "Maybe. If it keeps up like this we could have a snowball fight."

Sophia grinned at the idea. "I should warn you, I've got a mean arm. Best pitcher on my softball team in school."

Carl shot a fiendish look straight back at her. "Well, I wouldn't wanna be too hard on a girl." He teased.

"You jerk!" Sophia dropped her bag of leaves to try and tackle him. They were wrestling with each other to see who could get the other in a headlock first when there was a snapping rustle not far away. Both of them froze.

"Was that you?" Sophia whispered.

Carl stayed still. He was about to answer maybe they had just knocked a branch over when they heard it again, and the horrible hiss-growl that stalked their nightmares every time they dreamed.

Sophia huddled into Carl's chest, squeezing her eyes closed hoping that the Walkers would just pass by but Carl could see how close they were, just ten or fifteen feet away, rummaging through a tangled thicket of thorns. Sophia couldn't see but Carl could from his position; there were five Walkers tearing at something in the thicket but having heard the sound of the two kids they lifted their bloody faces towards the sound. Carl's heart thudded in his chest, roaring like a freight train in his ears making it hard to think. He had six bullets in his gun, but Walkers were like cockroaches, for every one you saw, there were ten you didn't.

"We have to move." He hissed, pushing Sophia off of him but not letting go of her hand. "Come on. Down the hill."

She nodded, frightened tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. But the dry leaf litter and the snapping of ice from frozen sticks beneath their shoes gave away their positions. Carl dared a look over his shoulder and saw with horror the five Walkers were now staggering towards them, frozen limbs outstretched, hollow, rasping growls wheezing through their throats.

"Hurry!" Carl urged, pulling Sophia along who was almost petrified by fear. They left the trash bags they'd been carrying and ran for the edge of the embankment they'd climbed earlier in the day. It was a steep drop and it had taken them almost an hour to make it up. Getting back down was going to be even worse.

They went over the edge at the same time, desperately trying to grab for hand holds or each other as their chilled limbs slipped and slid in the wet leaf litter and icy mud. Sophia cried out as her precarious grip on a very slender tree branch sticking out from the side of the hill snapped and she started tumbling forward. Carl hooked one hand onto another branch, thorns digging into his palm, stinging sharply even as blood trickled free, but he lunged his other hand and grabbed Sophia's wrist to stop her from sliding further. She cried out with terror, whimpering fearfully as she struggled to try and stop her forward momentum which was dragging Carl with her even as his hold fast bent and slipped, dragging the thorns across his palm even more.

"Hang on Sophia, I got you." He tried to encourage her. He squeezed her wrist as hard as he could while desperately searching for something more stable to hold onto. It was as his head was twisting on his neck that he looked up and saw the pack of Walkers. They were peering over the embankment with hungry, menacing faces, gummy yellow eyes staring down at them relentlessly. Sophia cried with fear again, twisting around desperately trying to dig her feet into the side of the hill, causing pain to shoot through Carl's wrist.

The Walkers staggered forward blindly and thanks to gravity and their stiffened limbs, they all tumbled over the edge of the cliff, bashing against the ground and rocks as they went end over end on the embankment, but they managed to snag Sophia's flailing body and rip her from Carl's grasp.

"Sophia!" he yelled, unable to let go of the branch he had hold of because of the thorns imbedded like grappling hooks in his palm.

The Walkers and Sophia tumbled to the bottom of the hill, gray decaying flesh a sharp contrast of Sophia's sky blue overcoat they had taken from a department store when gathering winter supplies before the first snow. Carl could see her thrashing wildly and even though he heard her high pitched, terrified cries he had heard no sounds of pain.

"Sophia run!" Carl ordered as she fought to untangle herself from the Walkers, who grabbed for her like giant birds of prey snatching a mouse out of a field. "Run!"

He twisted back around, tearing his gaze away from his friend in order to wrench his hand off of the tree branch he had a hold of. Skin and flesh tore away from his palm and as soon as he was free he slid down, digging in his feet as best he could to try and slow his advance towards the pit of Walkers straight beneath him. Sophia was no longer in his sights and he couldn't hear the crashing sound of her flight anymore because of the roaring blood in his ears and the snarled, starving moans of the monsters underneath him.

His forward momentum was too much to stop so blindly he reached for his gun and yanked it free from his pocket, flicking the safety off and cocking the hammer back. He heaved himself to his feet and took the last ten feet of the embankment at a forward run straight towards the Walkers, aiming the gun towards the monstrosities.

Six shots rang out over the dark, frozen air.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Alright guys, I've got another one for you, and all I can really say about this one is hang on tight! It's about to get crazy. **_

**Unfeigned**: _Must you leave us there, you evil woman? Now I will worry for the fate of Sophia AGAIN. Damn that girl always being the one who stresses me. :P Thanks for the update even through your personal stuff, that's what makes you awesome. **hugs**_

Of course I must! It is all part of the fun! And the one thing I can tell you is that you won't have to wonder for so many chapters/episodes for Sophia's fate. After this the action picks up and won't let up so hang on tight. And no worries, I never want to leave my readers hanging for too long, it makes me happy to hear from you guys =) *hugs*

**FanFicGirl10**: _Ugh i really don't like Ben anymore, off him soon :) Daryl i so right he had nothing to be jealous about, Fox is his and she is Daryl's ;) Uh oh, please do not kill Sophia .Maybe Shane's mystery friend will save her. Awesome chapter, Update Soon!_

Lol, Benjy is just worried about her. I tried to give an outsider's perspective on their relationship from the perspective of someone like Benjy- ultra modern and very liberal in his mindset. But Daryl is definitely right, he's got nothing to be worried about. Fox and Daryl do indeed belong to each other (even if Daryl hasn't completely admitted it to himself). You'll find out Sophia's fate before long, I promise ;)

**KatlynIreneGlasse**:_ Oooooo... I HATE YOU I SO HATE YOU CLIFFHANGERS SUCKKK! I feel like that instated my point nicely, this chapter was awesome I liked that you added in that bit with Shane and Fox, ha my iPod wanted to change Fox to Fix lol that's probably not funny but I'm on a sugar high so just about everything is funny and because of said sugar high this probably won't be the best review so just one more question...I WANT TO KNOW FOXES NAME NOW.. Or can you at least tell me if its cool or give me a hint Pweeze *puppy dog eyes*. Alright sugar high is wearing off I'm going to sleep now. Bye -Kat_

SUGARRRRRRR! I totally understand. And of course, I cannot resist building tension between the two of them, because its so readily available, lol. And as far as Fox's name is concerned, I shall give you a hint- it is related to the title of the story. But that's ALL I'm saying ;)

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Shane is such an ass. He don't want it with Fox. And speaking of Shane I really like the way you described Lori's pregnancy. That makes for some really interesting future issues because the baby is clearly his in this story, and Rick is clearly still married to Lori - what to do? Great paragraph about Glenn and Maggie. I think you really did their relationship justice. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, get those two crazy kids some rubbers! I NEED THE SMUT! I find Fox and Daryl to be extremely hot and I'm not ashamed to say that! They turn me on! I love how animalistic they are with the biting and such. I dig it. Don't tease me so :-( MAS, POR FAVOR! Carl's such a little man. But the cliffhanger? What, how. I can't take it. Update now!_

Aye, the rising tension between Rick and Shane and Lori over the baby is an awesome element to play with in this story. In the show, Rick's turning point of becoming a ruthless, uncompromising leader really occurred when he killed Shane, but that's not the way my story has gone thus far, and the group as a whole hasn't had to deal with as many outside pressures as they did in the second season of the show, so its taken longer for Rick's control to crack and start to slip, but little by little its fracturing, ripping away and leaving something raw and completely untamed in its place, and he's not about to let what's his go without a fight, no matter what he really thinks of Lori. His possession of them is instinctual, an automatic response he can't shake. And yes, I knew that after the time-skip, I wanted to do a bit of housekeeping so to speak and devote at least a little bit of time to each member of the group and how they've changed over the winter, because believe it or not, simply living outside in harsh weather would change you. Or at least I can imagine it would. Lol yes, I can guarantee you there will be at least one more smutty scene with Fox and Daryl, but it is actually integral to the plot so my timing has been carefully chosen, and this one will be harder, rougher, much more…visceral I guess would be the word. Well, you'll just have to wait and see ;) And yes Carl is. I really would have loved to see more of the relationship between him and Sophia in the show, I think it would have gone a long way to developing both their characters, but alas, there's only so much screen time to be had. And of course the cliffhanger, do you not know me? XD I hope its all well worth the wait!

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _AWWWWWWW..I hope Sophia doesn't become a walker or go missing again :( Oh and Benjamin is getting on my nerve ahahaha and so is Shane, but he always gets on my nerves. Amazing writing as usual and great, intense ending. Can't wait for the next chapter! (And by the way, I hope everything is okay with whatever is going on in your life!)_

Lol Benjy was indeed being a little bit intrusive, but it took him all winter to work up to it. I try to base all my characters actions in reality, and in my opinion, in reality, a city-slicker like Benjy would take one look at Daryl and immediately slot him into a category reserved for people like Carol's late husband Ed. Not knowing anything about him, just going off his minimal personal hygiene, southern drawl, and familiarity with some medieval looking weapons, and taking Benjy's jealousy and minimal crush on Fox into account, he would at least try and say something to her. He probably would never get the balls to say anything to Daryl directly. But Fox knows right where she stands with Daryl, and he knows where he stands with her, even if they don't exactly have a name for it yet. And you're so kind to wish me well, it means a lot. Mostly just trying to balance school and looking for a job, and also my beloved dog who's been with me for over 10 years is very ill, to the point we're considering having her put to sleep, so it's been rough the past few days. But nonetheless I want to keep my readers happy, because when you guys are happy, you shower me with such wonderful reviews and as I've said, and will continue to say, whenever I hear from you, it's like throwing me a diamond and it makes my day that much brighter.

**Emberka-2012**:_ I like the way Fox and Daryl treat each other. They are so similar. Such full of life and fun. I hope nothing happens with Sofia._

They are definitely moving into a more lovers type relationship rather than a biting, sarcastic, keeping-on-your-toes kind of dynamic which I think would be a natural and healthy progression for them. Even Daryl could be coaxed out of his bristly shell given enough time and persuasion ;) As for Sophia, read on and find out my friend!

**Emerald Gaze**: _Well i hope shane's training paid off cuz he missed at least once and all that blood's gonna make him a sure walker magnet. I wonder if sophia actually ran toward the others this time since her little run away off the highway in the show. And if those 2 survive they can say goodbye to their independence. I'm really liking how daryl and fox are working out and i especially like how ben is jealous and daryl just finds it funny._

Mmm, you'll just have to wait and see what happens, but I completely agree, if they both survive they'll never make it out of the parent's line of sight alone again. Ever. And yes, I tried to soften the relationship between Fox and Daryl just a touch, to make it more of a supportive bond rather than a competition since I think that's how a natural relationship between two people like them would develop. They've learned to trust each other and to really rely and depend on each other to watch the other's back and provide each other with the things they need. And yes, Benjy is so jealous of Daryl but not in a violent way like Shane is of Rick, which is why Daryl is just amused by it. Daryl is by no means worried about Fox's fidelity. He's quite confident he's got her hook line and sinker ;)

**MrsGooglyBear**: _Ahh! I can't wait for the next chapter! Eager to see what happens next! :D_

Well thanks for writing in to say so! I love it when my cliffhangers produce such eager responses! =)

**Scared-Heart**: _six...shots? but...but...but there was only five walkers! *cries* AWW! you just had to kill sophia didnt you! maybe she didnt die? maybe an animal or an extra walker appeared...or maybe he just shot off all rounds in his adrenalin rush...or maybe...maybe...AWWW! you killed her didnt you! *sniffle* cliff hangers are awesome...but they still make me scream in frustration._

Mmm, you'll just have to wait and see where all six of those bullets landed and what becomes of Sophia. My one bone to throw to all of you guys is that it won't take six or seven chapters for you to learn her fate. The action in my plot is really going to start picking up relentlessly in the upcoming chapters and I absolutely cannot wait for you guys to see it!

**Kaleiburzz**: _You are a kickass writer. (My reviews are gonna be a lot more specific and thorough now that I'm caught up.) First of all, I love the time jump! It was a really good idea! I see Shane is still an asshole as always... Jesus! Are you gonna do something about him? Maybe have Fox beat the crap out of him? Or exile... Also! The little bit about the sex withdrawal? Priceless! I like how Andrea is FINALLY making herself useful, ('bout fricking time!). The whole jealous Benji thing, adorable. I really hope he doesn't go all psychotic though. Anyway! Also! The Sophia thing! I love how you still managed to slip her being chased by walkers in there! Very creative! Seriously though. The way you write... My jaw was hanging open in horror, no lie, and my heart was pounding. Dude, I was TERRIFIED for them! So, are the wolves going to come into play now the the kids are maybe lost? Oh! Scary! Or ohmygawd please don't tell me Carl missed and hit Sophia... Ahhhh! The suspense is killing me! Update soon! (Or else...)_

I did decide the time-jump was necessary. This story is already longer than I think anything I've ever written before so and this is where all the drama starts to hit hard. And don't worry about Shane, he'll get his ;) And yes, there's more than a few people in camp that are having to go without and they are *ahem* not happy about it XD. Nah, Benjy won't go all crazy kine on anybody in camp, he doesn't have enough backbone for all of that. It took him almost six months to work up to saying this to Fox now lol. And yesssss, Carl and Sophia, I can't wait to show you guys what's in store! I wanna show it to you probably just as bad as you guys wanna read it! It's all part of the fun.

**Sage**: _Hey, remember me? :P Great chapter! This isn't even a simple fanfiction another fan wrote, this is a brilliant story that should be published :P And I love how you just sum everything up in a few paragraphs and dive into the excitement of the chapter instead of being overly descriptive like some writers on here can be. When you started writing about Carl and Sophia, I was like "They're so cute!" And then those fugly Walkers came along and I was like nooooooo Sophiaaaa! Don't kill her :c Anyways, lovely chapter, I love it. I love this fanfiction so much. Brilliant._

Awww, you're so kind! And of course I remember you! I try to find a balance between a good summary 'cleaning house' so to speak, but still give the characters justice. And of course, I wanna throw you guys as much action as possible, cause its the Walking Dead! They can only have so much quiet build up before it all explodes. And I'm glad I was able to do justice to Carl and Sophia. I wish they would have had more screen time together in the show so I tried to give them a little in my fic. I can't wait for you guys to see what's coming next!

**Guest1019**:_No not Sophia! Please let her be okay! Aside from being mean and having Sophia still disappear (not cool!), that scene was great. Everything was either detailed or described in the time-jump perfectly. When Carl and Sophia went over the hill I gasped and stood up really fast warranting some odd looks.. This entire chapter, especially Carl/Sophia was just wow. Ermahgerd erpdate sern!_

Lol, I have had that happen a few times, but mostly because I was writing while in class and I was typing so quickly and furiously and staring intensely at my screen that people were staring. But it's all part of the fun. And you'll just have to wait and see what happens!

* * *

Daryl and Fox emerged from the trees back to camp carrying a string of rabbits and rather scrawny squirrels that had been caught in several of Daryl's snares, but almost as soon as they'd crossed the tree line and into the open fields by the lake, he knew something was wrong. There were several camp fires lit and they could both see movement scurrying around the tents. Silently they took the last three hundred yards at a run, setting down their catches and heading towards the center of camp.

Carol was standing next to Rick, her eyes red and puffy from obvious tears while her hands shook even as she did her best to hold them still. Next to her Lori was clutching Carl fiercely while Rick paced nervously in front the map of the valley they had drawn up in the months they'd been here.

"What happened?" Daryl demanded.

"Sophia's gone missing." Rick answered shortly, whipping around at the sound of the other man's voice. He all but glared at both of them and Daryl realized that whatever had happened it had him agitated.

"What do you mean missing?" Daryl asked, cocking on eyebrow towards the sheriff.

"They went to get more insulation for the tents and a group of Walkers found Carl and Sophia. They were separated and Sophia must have panicked and run the opposite direction of camp." Rick growled, staring angrily down at the map, his fingers curling into fists at the edges of the paper spread out on the ground. He crouched down next to the paper and looked up at Carl who's own face was red and all but terrified.

"Where were you when you saw the Walkers?" he demanded of his son.

Carl pried himself from his mother's grip and pointed towards one of the steeper ridges that intersected with one of the rivers that fed into the lake; the same river that he and Fox had almost gone over the falls in.

"Here. We were coming back down the ridge towards camp when the Walkers snuck up on us. We went down the ridge and the Walkers followed and dragged Sophia away from me." His voice was trembling just as badly as his hands.

"Was she bit?" Carol asked weakly, her face contorting into a twisted expression of terror and pain.

"I…I don't know…I was caught on thorns and by the time I got free she was gone." Carl stammered.

"And you used the gun? You killed the Walkers?" Rick asked.

"Yes. I tried to find her but it was dark and I guess she ran too far away to hear my voice so I came back to camp as fast as I could." His words cracked at almost regular intervals and Daryl felt the way he was knotting up with guilt like a dying plant shrivels up. He looked thoroughly terrified and disgusted with himself all at the same time.

"Daryl, I need you and Fox to come with me. We need to go straight back to this spot and try to track Sophia. Hopefully she didn't go far and she just hunkered down somewhere and we can get her back before midnight. Andrea, Glenn, Maggie, when Shane gets back pair up and start patrols around camp, nobody else leaves. Glenn, if something happens, fire a single shot from the shotgun to let us know to come back, we'll hear the blast. One shot to signal that Sophia made her way back to camp on her own, two if a herd or the wolves break into camp and you've had to run. If you have to run, go for the vehicles and then up the mountain. Benjamin, can you guide them back to your old cabin?" Rick demanded, rounding on the medic who was as pale with fear as the snow beneath their boots.

"Ye…yes." He stammered his New York accent coming out so strong it made him hard to understand. "It'll be harder in the dark, but I can do it."

"Good. If something happens, fire the gun twice and we'll meet you there. If we don't show within twenty-four hours, move on. Deeper into the mountains is safer from Walkers. Stay together, keep each other safe. We'll be back before long." He hugged his son, crushing him hard against his chest before finally letting him go while Daryl made sure his gun was loaded and Fox loosened her kukri knives in their holsters just in case.

Rick paused for one more moment. He took the sheriff's hat off his head and gently placed it on his son's head who looked bashfully ashamed by the motion.

"I'll be back for this." Rick promised. He gave Carl one last pat on the shoulder before nodding towards the other members of camp and then heading towards the trees in the direction Sophia and Carl had left previously.

"How long has she been missing?" Daryl asked as they broke the tree line and the shadows enveloped them in heavy, inky darkness.

"An hour and a half, maybe two hours? I didn't know until just now." Rick answered.

"Where is Shane?" Fox demanded as they picked their way over snow covered trees roots and rocks, heading for the river to find the ridge that Carl had indicated to.

"We had a little…disagreement. He went to go blow off steam. He'll be back at camp before long. I just hope he listens to everybody else and stays put and doesn't come tearing off after us." Rick muttered.

Daryl's skin crawled a little despite the chill in the air. The way Rick spoke, it was very clear it wasn't just a disagreement, and as he looked the man over more carefully, he saw blood spatter on the collar of his shirt and the side of his mouth was cracked and a little swollen.

"You two trading haymakers?" Daryl commented quietly.

Rick looked at the hunter and Daryl didn't back down, despite the warning in Rick's eyes. "Shane just needed to be told a thing or two." He growled.

Daryl shrugged and beckoned them on. He could feel Fox simmering with tension at his shoulder as they kept on the march. They were both hungry and tired but now adrenaline was spiking through their system, but Daryl knew damn well it wasn't just the physical aspect of everything that Fox was chewing over. She'd been making more and more comments about the slowly demoralizing condition of Rick and Shane's friendship. They could barely even call each other friends at this point. More like two Alpha dogs struggling to win control of a pack, and the right to breed with the females.

They kept on through the snow and the increasing darkness. The moonlight was very thin, only a hazy ghost of illumination through the menacing sharp fingertips of the leafless treetops. Their breath billowed visibly with every exhale as the temperature continued to drop, moisture from the gathering fog dripping and condensing on the sides of trees. It wouldn't be long until it iced over and froze in place.

They had slowly fanned out, moving as quietly as the terrain allowed keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of movement, be it from animals, Walkers, or maybe even Sophia. Daryl couldn't imagine the girl would stay in this area though, as soon as the sun went down she'd be looking for shelter of some kind, or at least that's what she would do if she was smart. Since they'd been in the mountains Daryl had made it a point to educate the rest of camp about how to survive in the wilds, since he'd done it all his life. Granted the hills of Georgia were a far cry from the Catskills, but the principle was the same. Shelter, water, food, those were the necessities (in that order) to survive if you were stuck out here. But he also knew how panic could blind someone and by the time they managed to get their eyes open again, they were miles from home, cold, starving, and exhausted. He remembered his first night out in the woods after he'd fled his house after his father had cut him on the chest, lost and more alone than he'd ever been in his life. He had half hoped Merle would come for him and bring him back, maybe cuff him behind the head or call him names, but at least would take him back to the house where there would be food and a blanket waiting. But he'd had no such luck. That night had been the longest, coldest, most miserable of his existence. He wasn't going to let that happen to Sophia. She didn't deserve it.

When they came to the ridge, they were fairly spread out. Daryl whistled softly to call their attention and nodded at the flashlight in Rick's belt. Normally he could track and navigate without artificial light but the moon was in its first phase and the cloud cover was heavy, leaving the ground almost invisible. Rick handed him the light and he switched it on, crouching down in the cracking, muddy earth. What they saw was not entirely encouraging. Three dead Walkers sprawled at the bottom of the embankment and signs of a struggle.  
"Yeah, there was a fight here." Daryl murmured softly as he stepped back and panned the light over the ground, the bubble of silver illuminating signs of a heavy scuffle.

"Five Walkers, just like Carl said." Daryl continued, making note of the tracks on the ground.

"And only three bodies. So two got away." Fox commented.

"And Sophia?" Rick demanded.

Daryl panned the light over the ground again. He crouched down and pried open the fist of one of the dead Walkers and saw several strands of hair in the palm, the same length and color as Sophia's.

"Well she ain't here so she must have gotten away." Rick said softly as he crouched down by the Walkers next to Daryl. Another possibility roiled up in Daryl's mind like bile and when he looked up at Rick he knew the other man thought of it too.

"Or she didn't." the hunter said very quietly.

Fox's eyes narrowed but when she finally understood she looked straight at Daryl. His eyes were a ghostly expression of anger and bitter determination.

"But there's no fresh blood. Walker blood is black, that's all that there is here." She insisted.

Daryl nodded. "She's right. These three didn't get her. The tracks of the other two are going that way, lets see if we find them. If they've had big meal, they won't be going far."

Rick nodded and they picked up the trail again, following the staggering, scraping tracks of the two Walkers which was much easier to see than the lighter imprints made by what had to be Sophia. There was a point where the embankment slope became more shallow and a much more manageable climb up. Daryl could see that there was a scraping and a small bloodstain on a rock that had been exposed in the leaves. He licked his fingers dabbed his fingers in the blood and smelled it, human and not the undead kind. He rubbed it off on his jeans and then glanced up the hill. There were no signs of a continued climb up, so Sophia must have slipped and cut herself and decided to bolt around rather than up. He used the flashlight and guided along the continuing trail along the edge of the softening ridge and that was when they heard the growling.

"Knives out." Rick hissed.

They rounded the bend and saw two Walkers, both with fresh bullet holes in their chests and shoulders from where Carl must have taken aim but missed the head. Fox removed her bowie knife and hurled it straight at one of the monsters, hitting it straight in the skull, her arm still outstretched and her eyes ablaze with rage. Daryl used his crossbow on the other, putting it down before it could even lurch towards them.

"Does Sophia's trail go any further?" Rick demanded as they picked their way around the Walkers after Fox jerked her knife from the skull and Daryl took his bolt back.

Daryl paused for a moment, studying the ground. It was torn up and damaged, as if a bear or wolves had come through here, but there were no prints of claws or padded feet.

"It looks like someone mucked up the trail on purpose." He said quietly. He crouched down and let one hand touch the ground, using the light to help guide him, but even with the flashlight, the shadows were so deep and the wind had picked up with a ferocious, aching bite. There was a promise of heavy snow on the air.

"Does it go further?" Rick barked again.

Daryl got back up to his feet and stared at the man. "I can't tell like this, and there's snow coming. I can come back at first light and keep going." He answered.

"Will the snow not wipe it out?" he asked.

"There are other signs of a person's trail besides what's on the ground." Daryl muttered. He glanced over his shoulder as he exhaled a long, foggy breath into the freezing cold air. "We need to check them."

Rick's face twisted into an expression of revulsion. Fox's eyes hardened but Daryl could see she too was sickened. He wished he could have spared her from this but there was no getting around it now.

"It's the only way we'll know for sure." Rick said it for all of them and then led them back to the Walker bodies that were sprawled out over the ground. Rick took his hunting knife out but Daryl put his hand out to stop him.

"Fox, let him use your bowie knife. Its sharper. Rick, get that one, we got this." Daryl said, nodding towards the second Walker as he crouched over the first, buck knife in hand. Rick nodded and split the pair of heavy duty gloves he had tucked in his belt between them, keeping one for himself and giving the other to Daryl.

"Don't breathe." Daryl muttered at Fox as he slid the thick glove on, grateful for the brief reprieve from the biting cold. Fox nodded and with a last look, Daryl drove his buck knife into the Walker's gut and pulled back hard. Never before had he been subjected to such a foul smell in his life. Rotting meat and oozing bones and acid left to rot in the heat and then preserved by the icy cold. He could feel his gag rising and it was all he could do to swallow it back. Fox's skin had taken on a green tint even in this bad lighting as guts spilled out onto Daryl's gloved hand. He dug his hand into the carcass and tried to get a handle on the stomach but his entry wound wasn't wide enough to hack it loose. He gouged a better opening with the buck knife, allowing more greasy blood and entrails to spatter out, unleashing even more of that god-awful smell. When Daryl yanked several feet worth of intestines out to get at the stomach, Fox couldn't take it anymore and retched, leaning on her hands and knees, viscous liquid dripping from her lips as she doubled over again.

"Told you not to breathe." Daryl muttered as his fist finally closed on the stomach and he pulled hard, ripping it free from where it was attached in the body cavity. If he was being honest he wanted to puke right along with her but his years of practice at butchering freshly killed animals saved him, although there was nothing quite like ripping open an actual human being.

"Fuck you." Fox snarled as she wiped her mouth, but without any real malice in her voice. Behind her Rick was going through similar problems and she was comforted that she wasn't the only one losing her guts.

Daryl splayed the stomach out on the Walker's chest and used his buck knife to tear into the sack and without hesitation plunged his gloved hand inside withdrawing some wadded up mess of hair and bone shards. He used the knife to help pick through it, eyes adjusting somewhat to the darkness to allow him to see without the flashlight.

"Anything?" Fox asked.

"Whatever this was, it wasn't human. Hair's wrong, bone pieces are too thin." Daryl said, shaking the last of the guts off of his knife and moved to help Rick who had just managed to pry the stomach of the Walker out of the body cavity. The man was sweating despite the freezing chill and Daryl could see the anxiousness clouding in his blue eyes.

"Hoss had a big meal not too long ago." Daryl muttered as he gutted the stomach open and picked through the contents that spilled out onto the ground. "Bird of some kind…a rat…" he used the knife to separate the different bits of remains.

"Nothing human?" Rick asked, his voice hitched as though he was struggling not to heave.

"Nope." Daryl kicked the rest of the remains away, wiping the bowie knife clean on his jeans before handing it back to Fox who sheathed it gratefully. They took the bloody gloves off and Rick stuffed them back into his belt, wiping the nervous sweat off his brow before standing up all the way.

"What now?" Fox asked softly.

"We go back." Rick said heavily. "If Daryl can't track in this, then we have no choice but to wait for morning. Hopefully the snow won't ruin everything and we can pick up the trail at first light."

"You're just gonna leave her out there in the dark? Alone?" Fox demanded as Rick turned to walk away.

"Ain't no use in the rest of us getting hurt or lost. We taught Sophia how to manage cold weather, she'll be alright until morning. Once the sun is up, we'll come back here and get going. We'll find her." He sounded as though he were rehearsing it, practicing for when he had to face the girl's mother and say it with conviction.

Daryl was torn. Rick had valid points. The snow was starting to come down, the darkness was deepening, and over their heads they heard the wolves starting to howl. But if it were up to him, and he was the one making the calls, he'd stay and follow the trail. Alone. Although his companions were good to have in a fight, and Fox was getting more comfortable and familiar with tracking in the winter, he still preferred to have the silence of his own mind on difficult hunts.

In the end Rick's expression won him over. He sheathed his buck knife and looked at Fox for a moment. Her green eyes galvanized with a steely expression but when she looked back at Daryl she seemed to soften just slightly. Rick turned on his heel and headed back towards camp and the two of them followed behind.

When they reached camp, everyone came running to greet them, Carol up front, and when she saw they were empty handed, her expression shattered. Guilt washed over Daryl as she spoke through tears.

"You didn't find her?" she whimpered.

"We lost the trail around the ravine they were near earlier today, and the two Walkers that Carl's bullets missed." Rick answered.

"Was she…" Carol looked as though she were going to go to pieces and collapse right then, even without the answer. Lori wrapped her arms around the frail woman's shoulders and tried to steady her.

"We killed the Walkers, but we didn't see any signs that Sophia was attacked by them." Fox said while Rick was struggling for the words.

"How do you know?" Shane's drawl cut through Daryl's chill like a knife in all the wrong ways. It was like a blade buried deep between the ribs, sinking and twisting for the heart. It was just wrong.

"We cut those sons of bitches open and made sure. Without your help." Daryl snarled. It was then that he saw Shane's nose was swollen and there was blood crusted from a fresh cut on his cheekbone. So Rick had gotten in some punches too. Daryl shot a look at both men out of the corner of his eye; Shane had the weight advantage but Rick was canny and wasn't above deception- he'd seen that in Atlanta rescuing Glenn from the vatos. If he was going to bet money on a fight between either, his bet was going on Rick. Merle of course would have bet on Shane, but Daryl knew from experience you didn't have to be the bigger dog to win a fight. Just more ruthless than your opponent.

"How…how is she supposed to survive out there! In the dark! Alone! With Walkers in the woods!" Carol demanded, shaking Lori off and stalking towards Rick. "You just left her out there!"

"The trail went cold." Rick said, finding his voice at last. "Daryl said he can pick it up again at dawn. We've taught Sophia how to survive in cold weather. Find shelter, insulate, sit tight and stay in one place. She knows how to build a fire, even without matches. She'll be ok. We'll find her."

"Sophia's smart, she knows what to do. And she can hide from Walkers." Carl piped up, his voice still a little shaky but stronger than previously.

Carol put her hand up to her mouth in a gesture of anxiety while her other arm wrapped around her chest as she tried to keep it together. Lori guided her gently back towards the fire while Dale approached, rifle still slung over his shoulder, his dark eyes clearly worried.

"You ok Rick? You get into a fight or something?" Dale asked, noting the marks on the man's face.

"Nah, just tripped up a little while Shane and I were on patrol. Icy mud, stuff's a bitch." He said, playing it off casually, but Rick was a shitty liar if there ever was one. Dale picked up on it immediately.

"Shane's got some marks on his face too. Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Everything's fine Dale. Thanks for looking after the camp while we were gone." Rick said, clearly dismissing him when he followed his wife to the fire.

Dale looked after the man with a disappointed expression. Daryl lightly touched Fox's upper arm and tilted his head towards their tent. She nodded, silently telling him she'd be along shortly and he blinked once in acknowledgement before slipping away. She turned back to Dale who clearly still had something on his mind.

"That's not the first time Shane's come back to camp with his face marked up. You know anything about that?" he asked.

Fox's green eyes narrowed. "Why would I?" she questioned.

"Well, you and Daryl are…. together …and Rick has been putting a lot of responsibility for the group's welfare on Daryl's shoulders. I know Rick values Daryl's opinion. And the two of you were there when Rick was hurt. I thought maybe he might have told you something about Shane." Dale's dark eyes were calculating but also concerned. Fox admired him for that and was inclined to confide in him.

"Rick hasn't said anything. I think its just as Lori gets closer to giving birth the two of them are coming into conflict more. It's no secret Shane wants to head back down South where it'll be warmer for when the baby's born." Fox said, folding her arms across her chest as a slicing wind began to pick up.

"You know the odds aren't good that Rick's the father." Dale said quietly, his eyes shooting a glance at where Rick and Lori were sitting together, Carl next to his father, the sheriff's hat darkening his young face.

Fox shifted her weight. "It doesn't matter to Rick. It doesn't matter to anybody but Shane and Lori who the father is."

Dale shook his head. "You know that's not true. It matters a great deal to Rick who the father is. He can hardly look at Lori some days. I mean at the very least he knows about the affair they had. He has to."

"Rick's not stupid. He knows. Either he figured it out or Lori confessed because Shane sure as hell wouldn't have. But there's nothing to be done about it now." Fox answered firmly.

"Do me a favor, would you?" Dale asked, taking a step forward when Fox started to walk away. She nodded and he continued. "Keep an eye on Rick and Shane. While you were gone Shane said something about heading off in the opposite direction you two went today, that he saw a trail heading back down the mountain rather than further in. That he and Rick should go check it out and let Daryl keep on the trail you found tonight."

Fox tilted her head. "You want me to tag along with Rick and Shane?" she asked.

Dale shifted his rifle on his shoulders. "Rick's asked me to stay at camp and manage things here. Daryl can take care of himself in the woods. But I worry about letting Shane and Rick go off alone."

Green eyes narrowed and flashed with suspicion. "You think Shane would really try and hurt Rick?"

"I know you saw the blood on Rick's shirt when he came back this evening. They must have had a fight. Whether they settled things or not…I just don't think it's safe for them to be out in the woods alone together. Shane's not been in his right mind lately. I don't know if it's the cold getting to him, or Lori being so close to delivery or what it is, but I feel like he's ready to snap. So…please. Tomorrow, if the group splits up to look for Sophia, go with Rick and Shane if they go together."

Fox folded her arms over her chest feeling her knives brush her hip as she shifted her weight. "Why not ask Andrea? Or Glenn, or Maggie? Why me?" It was the question she always asked when one of the group wanted her to do something. She wasn't resisting doing the work, but she still couldn't shake the fear that despite the whole winter together that she was still seen as the outsider. The one who couldn't be completely trusted.

"Because Shane knows he can intimidate them." Dale said softly. "Shane's a bully, and he knows as long as he can make other people flinch, he can get the jump on them, which in this case could be shooting Rick in the back before anyone could stop him. But you're different. You're not afraid of him."

A sudden warm blaze went through her, curling deep in her flesh, filling her with a sense of pride. She'd always wanted to be seen as someone who was fearless, someone that wasn't afraid to be strong and do the dangerous thing. She'd taken a lot of unnecessary risks when she was younger to go out of her way to prove that point. Going off with strangers in the dark, trespassing in places that could get her arrested. Looking back on it sometimes she wondered how she'd managed to stay out of jail until the world had up and decided to take a permanent leave of absence.

"And if Shane threatened Rick, what would you have me do?" she asked softly. She knew what _she_ would do, without question. If Shane tried to kill Rick, she'd kill him first. It was that simple. But that was taking a person's life, and despite everything Shane had said and done, she didn't know how deeply killing another member of the group might rattle the other members of camp, and if that would jeopardize her position with them.

"Stop him." Dale said firmly. Fox looked at him full on and held his eye contact for at least a minute. She searched the depths, looking for the deeper meaning there, but all she found was uncertainty. So he hadn't made up his own mind what that meant yet either.

She nodded once and then turned and walked away from him back towards hers and Daryl's tent. He'd left the thermal blanket door un-staked and as soon as she was crouched down inside she reached out and speared the blanket back into the ground to block out the wind before turning back and zipping the tent closed.

Daryl already had the small lantern they used for light glowing, resting in one corner of the tent. He was leaning against the wall, his legs outstretched, eyes closed, chest rising slowly. When he heard her coming in he cracked his lids open and watched her as she took her shoes off but kept her socks on until the inside of the tent filled with their combined body heat.

"You really think Sophia's gonna be ok out there?" Fox asked quietly as she came to rest in the curve of Daryl's chest, enjoying the comforting closeness between them. She always felt safe when she retreated to the tent with him at night, it was like they could block the rest of the world out and didn't have to worry anymore- at least until the sun rose and they were forced back outside again.

Daryl's adept fingers reached down and pulled off the hair tie that kept Fox's messy red strands in a braid out of her face and let the tresses tumble loose. His calloused digits ran from her scalp down to the tussled end before pressing into the small of her back before wrapping around her flank and pulling her in. "She's survived all this time. She'll be ok." He insisted.

"Daryl." She looked up into his face and when he looked down at her, she immediately understood what was going through him. He'd been lost and alone in the woods before, abandoned by the people who were supposed to care for him. The last thing he wanted to be guilty of was letting that happen to someone he was supposed to protect.

"You know it makes the playing field uneven if I can't say your name back." He muttered, clearly telling her he had no interest in discussing this. She decided to let it go for now. He could be right after all. People survived, even in places like this. Granted that was before the world went to hell…but there had to be hope, even if it was blind. If they lost that…they'd lost the only reason to keep fighting.

She twisted her lips into a thin smirk. "You know my name." she growled in her throat.

He rolled his eyes and realized she wasn't going to budge. He'd even gone so far as to try and pull her name from her in the middle of sex, hoping that her pleasure hazed brain would lose control and she'd say it for him. No such luck so far.

She lost her grin when his expression became more forlorn. "What did Dale want?" he asked as she readjusted in the curve of his side.

"He said Shane found a separate trail in the opposite direction of where we were today, curving back towards the highway rather than towards the mountains. If Rick and Shane go together tomorrow to try and track it, he wants me to go with them."

Daryl only took a few seconds to process what that meant. "He doesn't want to risk Shane jumping Rick."

"You ok with that?" he continued when Fox didn't answer and instead focused on her fingers curling over Daryl's chest, nails nipping slightly through the fabric of his shirt.

"I'd rather go with you." She answered honestly. "I don't want to get in the middle of Rick and Shane's pissing contest. Its not my place and I don't care. I think they're both idiots for fighting over Lori."

Daryl sat up now and looked at her more seriously. "It's not a pissing contest, Fox. They've beaten each other up, maybe more than once now. Shane's not above violence. You know that." He said quietly. "'Sides. I can take care of myself. Go with Shane and Rick if they go off alone. Watch Rick's back."

She sat up now as well and looked deep into his cobalt eyes, searching for an unspoken truth, and what she found said that he was worried for Rick. It wasn't often that worry or anxiety came over him and so she paid attention when it did. After a long moment, she nodded. It didn't really matter that she had already told Dale she would go with Rick and Shane, she wanted to know where Daryl stood on the matter. His opinion didn't always change her mind on certain things, but she wanted to know what he thought regardless.

"Tell me something." She said, sitting up and looking at him out of the side of her eye. "If something were to happen…if something went wrong…would you leave the group?"

He tilted his head down at her and sat up more alertly now too. "What do you mean?" His voice was soft but the words were low toned and serious.

She took in a long breath and pulled her knees tight to her chest, letting her hair fall around her face. She tucked the strands behind her ear but on the opposite side so he couldn't look her directly in the eye. "If I had to leave…would you come with me?"

Daryl's fingers tightened on her wrist and then slid down to her hand, twining his fingers with hers. "You wouldn't tell me you were afraid if your life depended on it." He said quietly. "But if you are, if you think something's about to happen that you can't handle, then we should go. I just checked the bike's battery last week. We could go anywhere."

Now she did look at him, a solitary tear slipping from her eye and sliding down her cheek. "You would do that for me?"

He palmed her cheek and gently brushed his thumb across her face to swipe her tear off her skin, his lips twitching into a small smile. "Rick's a good man. Dale, Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Sophia, Benjamin, Carl, Lori, even Andrea. They're all good people. Shane's an asshole but there's always the one. But if you want to go, we'll go."

She leaned into him and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling his arms pull her tight against him while she inhaled his comforting smell. It was like the wilds outside but tempered with a clinging heat that reminded her of south Georgia in the summertime that would never ever go away because of how deep it had sunk into his bones. She forced away her tears and slowly pulled away from him.

"We'll stay. We have to find Sophia. And I don't want to go if I don't have to. But if Shane kills Rick…or let's something happen to him, I won't stay." Fox said firmly, letting her hair tumble forward again.

Daryl nodded. "If Shane kills Rick, we'll give that sorry bastard what he's owed before we go."

It didn't always sit well with him, but he understood that there was a dark, bloody current that ran beneath Fox's skin that sometimes made her appear more violent than she would have otherwise. If she had a choice in dealing with problems, she would spill blood readily enough to get her point across, and he had no doubt that if Shane crossed Rick or anyone else in camp that she wouldn't hesitate to sneak up on him and cut his throat clean open. He used to try to back her down from those bloody ideas but she would become resistant and spiteful. Now he found vague ways to agree with her to pacify her anger. It wasn't like he didn't feel it himself, and if Shane did kill Rick, he wouldn't lose one night of sleep if he gunned the son of a bitch down. But the difference between him and Fox was that he would kill for justice- an eye for an eye. That's how he'd been brought up, and if other cowards didn't want to get their hands dirty to dish out punishment, then it was up to him and he didn't mind that. His conscious was always clear when it came down to things like that- they'd brought it on themselves. Fox on the other hand would kill not for justice, but revenge. Revenge, and for that one moment of exerting the ultimate power over someone who had caused her pain. It was brutal, and in some ways, frightening, but Daryl couldn't hold it against her. It was too familiar for him to pass judgment on her. He'd felt that murderous rage on and off all throughout his childhood and adolescence, thanks to the careful cultivation from his father and his brother. But since having been with this group of people…they'd backed him down from that ruthless state of being. Sometimes he felt chastised, as if he'd gone soft…but he knew he hadn't. He'd gutted open two Walkers today without losing his guts and he'd managed to keep his head when Rick was gushing blood all over his hands. He was no pussy like Benjamin. He could handle himself. But now…now violence wasn't his go to answer for everything. He looked over at Fox who had slid away from him and was flipping the latches on the beat up guitar case on the other side of the tent. He wondered how much she was directly responsible for the change that had gone through him, and how much had been from the shared aches and pains of the road and companionship of the group at the end of the world.

Fox gave the guitar a quick tune and then plucked at the strings, creating a bluesy melody with a dark shiver of crooning temptation. It was after a few lines of the same refrain he realized he'd heard her play this before, many months ago on the window seat of Maggie's plantation house, the morning after he'd first kissed her.

"I heard the thunder overhead. Growling a warning, something's coming. Broken skies, split with veins of lightening. The whispered hiss of the wind blowing. Something's coming. Start running." She played that dark refrain again, rocking slowly as her head bobbed in time with her foot that tapped against the floor of the tent.

"Running through the city's shadows. Hear the streets breaking, the people screaming. Wake me from this cursed dreaming. I watched the world stop turning. Saw the fires burning. Tell me there's something worth chasing. Listen for the lullaby, of gunfire and breaking bones. Hear the wolves howling, see the fires burning, tell me something worth believing. The blood is flowing, the pain is growing. I can feel the world shaking. Show me something worth trusting."

"The storm breaks loose, crashing torrents running red. Wash away the blood of these walking dead. From the ashes we climb, ever we live, ever we die, ever we rise."

Her fingers kept up the music and Daryl found himself humming low in his throat when the refrain offered him the opportunity. She looked at him through the curtain of her hair, bright green eyes snapping and crackling with the fierce emotion only this kind of music could pull from her. It was often the predecessor to better things, deep in the darkness of the night where he left the lantern on to watch every expression as he woke the hunger deep in her flesh and drove her over the brink of ecstasy.

* * *

"About damn time."

Shane rolled his eyes and made sure that the gun holstered to his leg was within easy reach. This was no ordinary summons. This was different, he could tell just by the tone of voice demanding he show up over the two way radio that this wasn't a situation he wanted to into unarmed. It had been a bitch to maintain the two way radio and to check it every night at the same time that he and the group had agreed on in case they needed to get in touch with one another. For months it had been nothing but silence, their last meeting to tell them that they had to make a run back to their base in Colorado after their trip to the CDC had been unsuccessful. However, now they were back, the tapes at the CDC having revealed that they had indeed taken something, something besides information written on lab reports. Shane was here to find out what, and how much of a threat this group posed, and what, if anything, they intended to do.

"I had to wait until the watchman drifted off. Lazy asshole can't stay awake without coffee." Shane growled. He stalked deeper into the large clearing to meet his long awaited quarry. The moonlight was thin and cold but there was enough light to see his contact, standing about ten feet away, glinting metal curling around his wrist, leather jacket straining at the broad shoulders, icy blue eyes staring him down as his breath huffed in billowing pants.

"Is that so?" the man opposite him drawled, causing Shane's spine to twitch uncomfortably.

"Don't get any ideas, Merle. Your brother is in camp and your men won't know who is who if they open fire." Shane warned, a low threatening tone in his voice. Not that he really gave a shit if they killed Daryl, but a load of gunfire could easily hit Lori or Carl by accident.

Merle's smirk disappeared and his hollowed eyes grew serious. "About that. We don't want any shootouts. We want this to be nice and easy. You just hand over what it is you took from the CDC and this all goes away." The contraption on his arm that replaced his hand burned with silver light, the knife attached to it gleaming with a razor edge as he stepped forward.

"I don't have it, I told you!" Shane snarled angrily, his fingers twitching with a longing to grab his gun. Merle had one as well, within easy reach of his remaining hand, and even at this distance Shane could tell the safety was off. It would seem he hadn't come here to mess around either.

Merle whistled softly and that was when Shane's heart skipped a beat. Movement flickered in the trees behind Merle's back and black shadows began to move forward- a group of men, the same group he had talked with the first time he'd seen Merle back at the plantation in Georgia. One in particular who had unsettled him with his smooth charm and easy going attitude that was barely masking a shaking fury fueled by what Shane didn't know, and didn't want to find out. He remembered his name from that first introduction. Philip.

But it wasn't just the appearance of the men that startled Shane. They had what was clearly a child, hands bound behind their back, a burlap sack over their head, pushing them forward in the snow as they shivered and twisted with fear. Shane's mouth and throat ran dry and he snapped his eyes back up to Merle.

Philip came up from behind Merle's back, signaling to his men holding the child by the shoulders to stop. They all were carrying heavy-duty artillery except for Merle and Philip, both who were armed with handguns.

"Now, Shane, we came all this way for answers, and we're not leaving without them." Philip said, cool, slick voice a thin veneer over the anger roiling just beneath the surface. "So give us what we want, or she dies." The man jerked his head towards the guard holding the child and they yanked the bag off her head. Sophia's terrified eyes stared up at him wildly as her teeth chattered with uncontrollable terror.

"Shane, please! Please, please, please, give them whatever they want, please!" she begged.

"Let her go! She has nothing to do with this." Shane insisted. He wanted to draw his gun badly but he was overwhelmingly outnumbered and even with his level hand and uncompromising aim, he couldn't take them all on.

"We found her running around in the woods a few hours ago and decided to take her as a little bit of insurance." Philip responded coolly, completely un-phased by Sophia's whimpering pleas. He glanced at Shane with something like mild curiosity in his eyes. "You must not care very much about the members in your group if you let the kids run around wild without supervision."

Shane sucked in a hissing breath through clenched teeth, desperately trying to figure a way out of this. "Philip, don't do this. She's just a kid. She doesn't have anything to do with this. Let her go. I'll get you what you need." He promised.

Philip shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "The time for negotiations has passed. We told you that when we came here, you needed to be ready and waiting to meet us with our weapon. You came to us empty handed. We warned you." He tilted his head towards the man holding Sophia and nodded curtly. The man moved to curl his arm around Sophia's neck and the girl gave a terrified choking scream.

"Wait!" Shane yowled, lunging forward to try and intervene just as Philip raised his hand. He noticed that Merle was looking with some concern over the situation as well, but apparently he didn't have enough moral qualms to intervene.

"Yes, Shane?" Philip asked smoothly as though he was without a care in the world.

"Rick is sending Daryl out in the morning to track her. He's the best at what he does, he'll be able to figure out what happened, even if you go back and try to destroy the trail, it won't throw him off for long. They'll find you, and Rick will kill you all in revenge. You won't make it out of this valley alive if you kill her. Give her back to me and I'll get you what you need." His heart was hammering in his chest like a horse's hooves beating the race track and he struggled to keep his head clear.

Philip turned to Merle. "That true about your brother?"

Merle nodded. "Even before the world went to hell, Daryl was the best tracker in Georgia. He could track a mouse through a corn field." He said.

Philip tilted his head and sighed quietly. "This is getting messier and messier. I asked you for something so simple, Shane. Something you swore you could deliver on. So you'll understand if I take control from here, because my boss won't accept failure again."

He snapped his fingers and his guards lunged. Even before Shane could un-holster his gun he was kicked to his knees and the freezing muzzle of an automatic rifle was pressed to his temple. He took a deep shuddering breath trying to pull himself together, his mind flinging itself into overdrive trying his best to think of a way out. It was then that his heart stopped entirely when Philip gave a glance to the man guarding Sophia and nodded his head once. Sophia let out a strangled scream just before the guard's arm curled around her head and twisted hard. A sickening snap cracked through the biting forest air and Sophia crumpled to the ground, a small trickle of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth, wide terrified eyes now sightlessly staring up at them.

"Merle. Go back to the camp with the men and start getting ready to go." Philip ordered.

Merle nodded slowly, his eyes glancing with shifty wariness towards Sophia's body, Shane, Philip and the rest of the men. They all retreated out of the clearing except for Philip and the guard that had his gun pressed against Shane's temple, restraining him with the threat of a swift execution. As soon as the other men were gone, Philip crouched down to be at eye level with Shane, his voice soft, almost silky, but it was laced with venom so strong Shane had no doubt the truth of his words.

"We're going to get ready to make a full scale invasion of your camp. I have trackers in my group too, so don't think we can't find you. We're coming for what you promised us. You have one last chance to save any of them that you care about. I understand timing can be a bitch, so you've got three days, starting now. You bring us what we want and we'll disappear and never bother you again. But if you don't, if you try and run and save yourself, there will be nowhere we can't find you!" Philip's hand lunged and snagged Shane's thick hair by the back of his head and jerked his head back, exposing the trembling column of his throat. He withdrew a large knife from a sheathe on his leg and traced the tip of the blade over Shane's jugular, digging in just enough to cause a single droplet of blood to trickle free while Shane struggled to breathe.

"I may have made Merle a promise to spare his brother, but times have changed. Kill Daryl to keep him from finding where we are, because if there is any truth to what you said about Rick, I have no doubt you all could cause too much trouble for us, and I just don't have the time for that. Plus as long as Daryl is alive, that is a liability for my lieutenant, and I can't have that. So kill Daryl and then bring us our weapon."

"I don't have it." Shane snarled again, still struggling to breathe. "Rick must have taken it. I don't know where he would have hidden it…he's never said anything…he must have hidden it…" His eyes snapped up and he shook his head as the memory crashed back down into his consciousness. Of course. Why the hell hadn't he thought of it before?

"I think I know who has it."

Philip's eyes gleamed like a wolf's in the moonlight staring down a helpless piece of prey. "Pray tell, Shane." He encouraged, withdrawing his knife and letting go of Shane's hair.

"The first night after the CDC, we were staying in a plantation house. Rick was drunk off his ass and on the way to bed him and one of our group, Fox, were talking all quiet like in the hallway. I saw him press something into her hand. He must have given it to her to keep it safe." He panted.

Philip tilted his head. "You talked about her the last time we spoke. That she was a prisoner and not to be trusted. Why would he do such a thing? And be rest assured Shane, if you're lying, I will know, and you will suffer for it." He warned.

"It must have been _because_ nobody trusted her that he gave it to her. She had no ties to us then. He must have believed that if shit hit the fan…if someone like you ever came looking for it…she would be able to get away and so keep it hidden from you. And she could too, she's a fucking slippery bitch. If she went off on her own, you'd never find her." He remembered her threat when they had stayed in the house in Virginia, about her being able to disappear off the face of the earth, and with her background in scavenging to survive even before the world had ended, he wouldn't put it past her to live to see the end of these hell stricken days and come out still standing on the other side. As much as he hated her, he admired her for that too.

"Would she run if the camp was under siege? Abandon you all and head for the hills?" Philip questioned.

Shane's teeth put pressure on his tongue as he struggled to answer, his heart still racing from the gun pressed to his temple. "She's been fucking Daryl for the past six months. God knows why but it's like they're glued at the hip. I doubt she'd leave without him. But if he were dead she would split first chance she had if there was a battle. She's a snake." He spat.

Philip smirked. "Good. Now listen to me very carefully Shane, because you have one chance to do this right. Kill Daryl to stop him from finding our camp, and then take from Fox what is rightly ours. Give it to us and we can all go back to pretending we never knew each other existed. If you don't, we will hound you to the end of the earth, and kill every single last member of your group until we get it. And we'll save you for last so you know we're coming." He hissed. "Three days. Meet us right here." He kicked a loose rock with his shoe, sending it tumbling through the snow to land near Sophia's body. He nodded to his man who finally withdrew the gun and allowed Shane to stand back up. He pushed off of him and hurriedly got back up to his feet, ignoring the stinging pain in his throat where the knife had nicked in.

"Oh Shane?" Philip called getting his attention as they made to go their separate ways. The man turned around and caught Philip's eye, acknowledging his address.

"On the off chance you fail, and Fox slips away during the firefight, how will we know its her when we catch her?"

Shane's lips twitched into a thin, forced, half smirk. "Bloody red hair. She insists on keeping it dyed, despite the fact there's no one who gives a shit."

Philip nodded as if lost in deep thought. "Good to know."


	28. Chapter 28

**_Alright my wonderful readers and reviewers we are back again! I do have a little bit of bad news though, for those of you who may or may not know my beloved dog of ten years has been very ill the past week or so and I finally had to say goodbye a few days ago. It was the right thing to do, as hard as it was. I won't dwell on it too long cause I wouldn't want to drag everyone down when I'm trying to be happy with the 10 years worth of happy memories I have of her, but I figured I'd share cause you guys have become a huge part of my life now. This is what happens when you leave me such wonderful words of praise every few days for something I created. I become attached. Ok, anyway, on with the show!_**

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Oh hell no... Fox and Daryl are in trouble oh no! Poor Sophia I'd always liked her, oh well no one safe during the Walking Dead. Who excited for the rest of season three? I am although after reading this I'll be like: So when does Fox come in? Lolz anyho I'm sorry for a sugar filled review last time that stuff is like crack, this one probably isn't any better, let this be a warning to all who dare to watch, The Human Centipede 2, don't cause then your scarred for life and then your up till 2:48 am and hate your life. I'm gonna try sleeping again maybe my dreams will be walking dead related... Wait that will probably scare me more, FML. Until next time. - a very scared Kat._

Mm, everyone's getting into trouble, but that is of course what the Walking Dead is all about. God, I totally agree, I am completely DYING for season 3 to come out, and the other day when I was at Hot Topic, I saw the shirts they had that said "If Daryl dies we riot." And I swear I had a fangirly yelp of excitement. I knew he was popular, but I SERIOUSLY hope that the writers take that shit seriously. Cause, yeah…if he dies…there will be riots. And bloodshed. I'm just as hyper as you are I think. Or were. And yeah, I will NEVER watch the Human Centipede. I heard awful things about it from a friend who did and I hate those kinds of movies anyway. Good luck with your nightmares! And Awww, you are so kind, you wanna see my OC in the show. That's awesome! *feels the love*

**MrsGooglyBear**:_ Noo, Sophia! :( So sad that she had to die that way. Damn, I really hate Philip. Great chapter! Love that there was a lot of angst and drama and all. :) Waiting for the next chapter..._

Definitely lots of angst and drama. And so much more to come. I was crushed when they killed Sophia in the show, but when I was writing the plot for my story I just couldn't write it without that crux. Its the arc in which so many things change, and it really marks a sharp transition for Daryl in many ways, so I included it. Of course the flavor is different and you'll just have to wait to see what happens. And as for Phillip… I was not exactly impressed with him in the show. I felt he was well acted, but his guise of being benevolent to gain people's trust while really being ruthless was too thin. His verbal manipulation felt too obvious to me, so in my story I've made him decidedly more aggressive, but there is a reason behind this.

**mrskaz453**: _OMG... Shane is such a freaking psycho...Poor Sophia... The Governor killed her...and Merle just stood there...No freaking way Shane is going to be able to kill Daryl...and the bastard set up Fox for the Governor and his men.. I want Shane to die a painful death, as well as the governor...You just keep making this more & more interesting...Scared for Daryl/Fox/Rick... Hope Shane dies for his crimes, but not before warning the others about what he's done and about the governor...He also needs to confess that they killed Sophia and he is the one who brought them there...Awesome... update soon... Please.._

Shane is indeed a psycho of epic proportions. His kind of pathology can lead to all kinds of horrendous actions, as we've already seen. Aye, the Governor killed Sophia, although in my story he's not in the same position of Governor as he is in the show. He does have a certain amount of control and power…but he is also answering to someone else. Someone nobody will see coming ;) As far as Merle not intervening, my interpretation of the scene when I wrote it was that it happened to fast for him to react. I don't think that he would have been comfortable with Philip killing a child, but I also don't think that he would put his own position or life in jeopardy for moral qualms either and so that was how I chose to play that scene. And Shane…Shane will get his justice, I promise. I had one plan in mind but as the story has progressed I've changed a lot from my original sketch so almost everything is different now, and now Shane's fate is also different, but it is coming soon, I promise that. All of the consequences of his betrayal are about to smack the group in the face. They just have no idea what they're in for…I can't wait to bring it to you guys! That sounded a little maniacal…at least in my head. XD

**Unfeigned**:_ Hmm... I don't see Merle letting a kid get killed like that and just being okay with it, I think he has his own set of values...twisted and corrupt, but men like him aren't keen on kids getting hurt. Thanks for letting us know who's out there. Things are getting exciting! Go team Fox..._

Aye, I agree that Merle wouldn't be ok with a kid being killed, and he isn't, however, when I wrote the scene, my interpretation in my mind was that it happened so fast that he couldn't react in time, AND the fact that while he wouldn't be comfortable with it, it wouldn't be enough for him to risk jeopardizing his standing with Philip, or even his life, or his favor from Philip to spare Daryl (since he doesn't know Philip is giving Shane orders to kill Daryl) so that was how I chose to play that scene. And yes, it was finally time to let all of you know at least in partial who is behind all of this. And don't worry, Fox and Rick's shared secret shall be exposed soon enough as well, everything is picking up speed and launching towards the end. We are on the downhill slide, but it will be a screaming fast pace until the end.

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Wow. I don't even know where to begin with this one. First, your prose and narration is impeccable. I sincerely felt like I was out there in the woods, in the still winter air, bone-chillingly cold, watching my breath in the air. Amazing. I enjoyed the scene between Fox and Dale. It shows that while people are still wary of her, they see her for who she is - brave and unflinching. Way to go Dale for seeing that and calling it out in her. Of course I love the scene between Fox and Daryl - any intimacy between them is great, emotional, physcial, otherwise. It's nice to see how they've developed into kindred spirits who battle with each other instead of against now. Will they ever utter the "L" word to each other? Also - maybe I missed this the first time around but I did not know that the main bad fella was Philip! Way to include them in this manner, as government militia types working for a greater evil force. I picture them in black leather with armor plates on their chests lol. Even Merle - no more country plaid and dirty wife beaters for him! That's probably not accurate but it's what immediately came to mind. Kill Daryl? Just like that, huh? Philip is trippin' if he thinks it's going to be as easy as that. I'm certainly not worried about Daryl surviving in your story - I know you would never :-) I'm sure there will be some unpleasant things to befall him, but who better to save him than Fox? I sense a serious choice for Fox coming up soon. She has what they want around her neck - and they'll have Daryl. I see her honestly having no qualms about handing it over to save him, then fucking everyone up in a bloodbath with her kukri knives and taking it back. AW JEAH! And Sophia...man, couldn't she have survived in your story? :-( Not sure what's worse - her turning into a walker, something super unwholesome and unholy, or having her neck broken and representing merely collateral damage in the war of evil that men do. Sigh._

Because I happen to be one of the luckiest people ever and I live in a tropical paradise, its been a while since I've actually spent any great length of time in a wintery place, so I used my previous experience from being in Europe and also where I lived (which was actually in the South) prior to moving to my island home. The night is a completely different animal between the seasons, particularly between winter and summer and I tried to have that come through. I've always believed that the setting, and creating as rich of a mental environment for my readers to have as they follow the actions of my characters helps everything to feel more visceral and realistic. And yes, I definitely knew that I wanted Fox and Dale to have at least a little bit of screen time because Dale was such an integral character in the show while he was alive, and he has that 'take no prisoners' attitude when it comes to speaking his mind, and what he thinks about others. I also wanted Fox to have a sense of validation from someone else in the group besides Daryl or even Rick, because it's really what she's been craving this whole time, and even though its small, it will go a long way to strengthening her bond to them. And of course, I try to include as much Foxy/Daryl intimacy as possible, although the world of the Walking Dead certainly does not allow much time for pillow talk. The issue of the L word is fast approaching. I've held off on it for a while now both for the reason that neither of them are totally comfortable with even the idea of it, let alone saying it out loud, and also just for drama and tension, cause ya know, that's what makes a story great. Lol, you didn't miss anything, I didn't reveal any particular information about who the baddies were until this chapter, but Philip isn't the only one. There's someone else, someone I don't think /anybody/ will see coming, and if anybody does, they have some how managed to tap my brainwaves and listen in on my private conversations to myself and the empty air of my apartment XD. And Fox does indeed have a serious choice coming up, several of them, and there won't be much time to think about it or weigh her options. She's impulsive and can be frighteningly violent which is actually something I don't approve of, but it is who she is so I have to be careful and make sure I write her honestly. There's SOOOO much action coming up, I can't fucking WAIT to show it to you. And yes, Sophia's fate…I knew immediately when I started writing this story I wanted it to be different than in the show, because duh, where would the suspense/shock/hunger for more be otherwise? And her murder is internal to the plot, because it shows up front and center without any qualms the kind of baddies the group is gonna have to deal with, and the kind of people that Shane has basically sold his soul to. She's not just collateral damage though- Philip killed her in front of Shane to prove a point. He's going to get what he's coming for, and he doesn't care who he has to hurt to do so, and of course to scare the shit out of Shane. Merle knows that Shane has an attachment to Lori and Carl, and he would have told Philip about this by now, and so by Philip killing Sophia, he's letting Shane know loud and clear, he's got no issues with killing the innocent. My Philip is probably more ruthless and bloodthirsty than the actual one in the show, but its for the same reason- to exercise control over the people under him.

**Emberka-2012**: _Oh, no. I so wanted Sofia alive. At least in fanfiction. I hope Shane will die a painful and lengthy death for his betrayal. At first I endorsed Daryl 's decision to Fox supported Rick. Now it's better, if Rick solves the problem with his ex best friend alone. Daryl and Fox will need each other._

I agree, I think it would be better if Shane and Rick had it out together rather than anybody else getting in the way. The conflict started with them, its only fitting it will end with them. We shall have to wait and see what happens….

**FanFicGirl10**: _WOW! I knew it was Merle! See Shane that is what happens when you play with fire, you get burned! Oh poor Sophia, i feel so bad for her :( Did they leave her body? Oh no! If Shane kills Daryl, i will lose my shit! I hope Merle joins or at least takes Daryl's side. Is Fox's real name, Rose? Or a type of flower? Amazing Chapter, Update Soon!_

Mm, indeed it was Merle. And yeah, Shane's an idiot for thinking that he can control every situation and bend it to his will. Yes, they left her body, Shane would have no way to explain how he found her and Philip has no interest in burying her, he's got other things on his mind…And poor Daryl, he has no idea what's coming for him. And I shall not reveal Fox's real name just yet…but soon my friend, soon!

**Kaleiburzz**:_ "Hoss had a big meal not too long ago" I like how you vaguely stick to the story line. Very nice. On a side note: You... You killed Sophia... You're ruthless. You'd better be going somewhere with this. Until then, you are on probation my friend. Lol!_

I do try to throw in some parts from the canon show every now and then cause I think they were well written or relevant to the characters development. And yes indeed, I killed Sophia, poor girl was on the chopping block from the start I'm afraid. I realize that's brutal, but this is the Walking Dead after all, it is not for the faint of heart…keep watching for even more insanity that is to unfold very soon…

**ry123red**: _HOLY CRAP THAT WAS A CRAZY CHAPTER! I can't believe the mysterious stranger was Merle! I was not expecting that! But poor Sophia! I can't believe that Shane could be so cruel...well actually I can. lol. But I hope Fox kicks Shane's ass if he tries to kill Daryl. I was freaking out while I read this chapter and all my friends thought i was crazy. haha. AMAZING CHAPTER. I can't wait to read more._

I'm glad I was able to spring Merle's reveal as a surprise! There's only a limited number of people it could have been and I knew I didn't want it to be an OC so I'm glad there was still some tension in that reveal. Yes, poor Sophia…she really was the victim of another man's indiscretion and selfishness. Lol, it was a fast blur of insanely sped up typing when I wrote this chapter, my classmates were giving me strange looks too, XD

**hayleyjune13**: _Hot damn! This just keeps on getting better and better!_

Why thank you!

**Sage**: _Omg. Omg.. I had a feeling that group was the Governor's but I didn't wanna believe it. Omg. I can't believe... This is cray cray. No words. I just can't. I can't... Oh my god. Wow._

It is indeed cray cray and it's only gonna get even crazier as we start picking up speed towards the end…hang on tight!

**thedeadwalking91**: _Oh wow! Been following this story over a couple of days, and did not see that coming! Had to read with my hand to my mouth in shock! Such a good original story! Devastated about Sophia! Can't wait for another update!_

Why hello there new reviewer, nice to see you! Yay, shock, surprise, suspense, horror, emotion! All wonderful things that makes my muse grin. =D

**Emerald Gaze:**_ Daryl you freakin amazing human being! He would leave them for her XD and i absolutely luvd their nonverbal communication. Oh this is getting good so good and it is merle and the govner! How exciting. I wonder if shane will insist with going with daryl instead now. And it's funny how shane thinks he knows fox, oh she'd run? Yeah after she murdered everyone responsible for daryl's dead should come to that. Rick looking for revenge? He doesn't even compare to what fox would do to them. Also this kinda makes me think of the irony of shane working for them and in the show we 'see shane' in the town when rick hallucinates. this also makes me really wanna know what happens to daryl in the next episode it's so evil for them to make us wait_

I debated a long time whether to put that conversation in there concerning whether Daryl would leave the group for Fox or not, and after going through the different episodes, I think he would, if he truly thought the group was broken and there was nothing let to salvage. He wouldn't want to obviously, but if he thought there was nothing left of who they had been before, there wouldn't be much point in hanging onto them and he'd rather steal himself and Fox away some place safe to ride out the rest of the storm. Hehe, Shane's got a huge head and he thinks he knows how everybody works, and therein lies his greatest weakness, because he overestimates people's reactions. In the show he expected Lori and Carl to be loyal to him, and he didn't expect Rick to be capable of ruthless, uncompromising decisions. He was wrong on both counts and in the end it cost him his life. We shall see if his mistakes prove to have the same out come again…

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _WHOA...poor Sophia D: and gosh darn Merle! I was not expecting that in the least, but I like how you twisted them into this plot. I love Daryl's and Fox's relationship and all the different conflicts incoorperated into the biggest one, the walkers. I'm so sorry about your dog and I hope she keeps fighting. Amazing writing as always!_

Yay, surprise and suspense, I love it! I'm so glad I'm able to hold that over you guys because its something not really well practiced at and it was a hurdle I wanted to cross with this fic, so I'm so glad it seems to be working =D And yes, the backdrop of all of this is always the Walkers. It has to be. It's the Walking Dead! I hate it when great universes like this lose sight of what made them so great in the first place; prime example the Resident Evil franchise. But anyway, hang on tight, its about to get nuts!

**KassieIsa**: _Damn it Shane! I really hope that Fox dyes her hair to a different color! This story is so different from all the other ones I've seen so far. I love it so far, but really? Asking Shane to kill Daryl?_

I know right, that bad, bad, bad Shane. Lol, Fox is a redhead through and through, even if she had the opportunity to go a different color she wouldn't. I'm glad my story is different! That was one of the things I was really shooting for when I wrote this. And yep, Philip is asking Shane to kill Daryl. He's a bad guy after all…we shall just have to wait and see what happens ;)

* * *

It was pre-dawn when Rick kicked the edges of their tents to wake them. Daryl had already been sleeping lightly, his arm draped around Fox's naked back, keeping her towed in close to him while she slept. When he felt the slight shudder of their little cave he groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and started looking for clothes. He was halfway into a pair of black pants when his movements woke Fox.

"Morning." She said, curling her tongue around her teeth as she stretched her back in a luxurious way like a cat after having sunned itself on a windowsill.

"Morning." He responded as he finished buttoning up his pants and started digging through the piles of clothes looking for a shirt that was at least somewhere in the vicinity of clean.

Fox blindly reached over and snagged his wrist. "Clothes already? It's not even sunup." She muttered sleepily and tried to tug him back down into the nest of messy blankets and coats they were using to keep warm at night. Sometimes if there was nothing particularly pressing to do he would allow her to do so and they'd spend another hour or so in warm, comfortable silence, skin pressed against skin. On other mornings, when supplies permitted, he'd make true the idiom that morning sex was really indeed the best.

He huffed a soft peal of laughter and bent down, catching the back of her head in his palm and arching her head up so he could kiss her deeply. Even as tired as she was he could still feel it spark wakefulness into her frame and he smirked at his growing prowess when it came to matters of the flesh.

"Come on. We got work to do today." He said more seriously once he let her go and continued hunting for a shirt. It was almost ironic that he was setting out into the wilds to find a lost little girl and he couldn't find a shirt in a six by nine space.

She nodded in agreement. She stretched her arms over her head until her shoulders and back cracked, the contracted muscles making the tattoo on her skin writhe until she relaxed. She dug through the blankets until she found her bra that had ended up on the other side of the tent and slipped back into it. He always liked to watch her dress (and especially undress); something about the way the way the fabric slid and pulled against her skin pleased him. Next was a shirt- the exact one he'd been looking for- and she tugged it over her head.

"Hey, that's my shirt." He noted as he tried to pull it from her before she was all the way in it, but it was too late. The button down had settled over her and now she was standing up looking for a pair of underwear, but his shirt covered just enough to tortuously tease his imagination, and it occurred to him that this was the first time he'd seen her wear any piece of clothing that belonged to him.

She sauntered up to him and snaked her hands through his hair and kissed him hard again, sinking her teeth into his lip almost enough to draw blood before pulling back. "It looks better on me." She hissed before slinking away and he couldn't tear his eyes away when she bent over to find the rest of her clothes. He knew she was doing it on purpose to drive him crazy; a long, lusty list of profanity ran through his mind and he growled low in his throat.  
"God damn it." He cursed watching her as she smirked at him over her shoulder while she wriggled into a pair of black pants, her own this time. "Woman you will kill me. You are shortening my life as we speak."

She snickered. "I doubt that." She teased as she came back to him and pressed herself against his body, one hand slinking down to grip his inner thigh with tight, biting fingers causing him to gasp. "Tell you what. As soon as we find Sophia, I will persuade Rick to let us take the bike and go for a supply run. And I won't even make you wait until we get back to camp to use what we find." She hissed this in his ear.

"And if Rick says no?" he asked, tipping his head back so she could puff a warm breath against his neck.

"Since when have I ever done what someone told me to do just because they told me?" she reminded him, her voice low and cut with gravel. She chuckled against his throat before pulling away and snagging her leather jacket and shrugging into it after she put on her boots and her belt with her knives. "Reign it in wild-man. Its us against the friggin Arctic winter today." She pulled on her heavy outer coat and with that she pulled the stake out of thermal blanket and let in a blast of freezing cold air, effectively turning the rushing hot blood in his veins to icy rivers, causing him to scramble to shut the blanket door back down while he found the rest of his clothes.

When he was presentable he trudged out into the snow, his crossbow slung over his shoulder ready to deal with this situation relentlessly. Sophia had spent the night out in the freezing cold. He wasn't going to make her wait any longer than necessary. The rest of the camp was also assembled by the fire where the map was spread out on a patch of ground that was clear of snow. Everyone looked like a spring that was wound much too tight, especially Carol who didn't look like she'd had a single minute of sleep. It made Daryl's heart twist uncomfortably to know that she'd been up all night, probably crying and worrying. Why did the good parents always have to suffer? His old man had never known where he was, much less cared, and Merle wasn't much better.

"Alright, here is how this is going to work." Rick said, clearing his throat and getting everyone's attention. "Daryl, you take the trail that we followed last night. Me and Shane will take the trail Shane came across last night and see if it leads to anything. If there are others in the mountains, we need to know about it. Andrea, Fox, Glenn, Maggie, I want perimeter sweeps five miles in circumference until we come back. Dale, you stay and stand guard. Benjamin, inventory your supplies and have the first aid stuff at the ready in case one of us or Sophia has been injured, sterilize all your tools in the fire, go ahead and get the wood going hot enough. Lori, Carol, and Carl you handle the daily chores here. Every person should have at least a couple flares on their person. If anybody gets lost or injured, light them up and we'll come looking. Dale, if Sophia makes her way back to camp, use the high powered rifle and fire a single shot into the air to let us know to come back." He looked at all of them sternly with the weight and pressure of a leader struggling to right mistakes he hadn't even made. "You have your orders. Move out."

Everyone broke up and went for the weapons pile underneath the largest tree at the edge of the lake that Dale or whoever was on watch had been using to lookout from. Everyone took the additional guns they desired, save for Fox who refused to carry even in these woods, still preferring her knives, and kept a very close watch on Rick as he double checked the bullets in his python.

"Rick. Why don't me and Daryl check the trail from last night. Don't seem right to let a man go alone in woods like these. Fox can go with you and Dale and Andrea could run the perimeter instead, along with Glenn and Maggie. Carl, you could handle a single shot from the rifle couldn't you?" Shane asked, glancing down at the kid like a father who expects his son to give the right answer, regardless whether its really right or not.

"Yeah, of course." The boy answered firmly.

Rick's eyes narrowed and his tone was hot when he spoke. "You won't be using that gun any time soon." He said sternly, his eyes staring down at his son. When Carl shifted his weight and turned his head away, indicating he'd gotten the message, Rick looked back up at Shane. "But if you want to go with Daryl, by all means, go ahead." His voice clearly said he was all too happy not to have be alone with him anymore. "Lori you've had a little more gun training than Carol has, if Sophia comes back, fire one shot from the rifle to let us know." He nodded once to her and then gave his son a light tap on the shoulder before tilting his head at Fox who's eyes cut dangerously from Rick to Shane. Truth be told Daryl was not the least bit thrilled he now had to deal with Shane tagging at his back but he wasn't going to argue with Rick. He could handle Shane. It was better for Shane and Rick to be apart.

"Let's go!" Rick barked beckoning for Fox to hurry up and join him. She was still standing very standoffishly near the weapons pile guarding it like a dog guards its food bowl. She seemed completely oblivious to everything going on until Daryl came over, her eyes burning with vicious green fire as she stared at Shane who was checking the clip in his gun a few yards away.

"Hey. Calm down. Everything's gonna be fine. We're gonna find Sophia. Nothing's gonna happen." He soothed. He could sense the angry energy running through her skin like a crackle of electricity. Her eyes were all but murderous even when she looked up at him.

"Be careful." She growled.

He knew there were people watching but at this point he couldn't have cared less. Why bother? Everybody knew everybody's business anyway, camp was too small not to. He reached down and took her hand and squeezed her fingers tightly.

"I will be. I'll come back. Promise." He murmured. He kissed her hand and then her lips, tilting her chin up to meet his mouth with two fingers in order to really get her attention. He could feel people staring and that old sense of nervousness he'd thought he'd managed to banish came roaring back, but she didn't give him time to think about it. She surged towards him and twisted her fingers into his hair and pulled him down onto her hard, biting his lip much harder than she ever had before, hard enough that they both tasted copper. He tried pulling back but she pulled on his hair and refused to let go until she'd exorcised some kind of demon in which she audibly snarled before releasing him.

"Watch your back." She hissed before walking away and stalking straight towards Shane who was finishing loading the bullets into his gun.

"If anything happens to him, there is no force on heaven or earth that will save you from me." She snarled so low that nobody else could hear although they must have been able to see the vicious expression on her face.

"Calm down, Foxy. Nothing's gonna happen. We're going to find Sophia. Now go on, you're wasting light." He said coolly.

Fox's fingers tightened on the handle of her kukri knife. "Daryl showed me how to gut a human being yesterday when we were looking for Sophia. If something happens to him, trust me, it only takes one viewing to memorize something like that." She bared her teeth. She could see something dark and writhing like a tangled ball of snakes deep in the pupils of his eyes and it didn't settle any of her fears. "Don't underestimate me, Shane." She warned as she drew away and stalked towards Rick.

Daryl watched her go until he caught Shane's eye and tilted his head. They walked away from camp in the same direction he'd taken last night, the freshly powdered snow crisp and completely unmarked, the surface of the lake frozen solid. Both men were silent for a long time, even after they crossed under the trees, but after several minutes of picking over debris and huffing for breath in the freezing air Shane spoke.

"So man, there's something I been wanting to know all this time."

Daryl glanced over at his shoulder and looked at him, irritation prickling through him. It was bad enough he had to babysit this asshole, let alone play twenty questions but he shrugged his shoulder anyway.

"What do you see in her?"

Daryl paused and allowed Shane to catch up to him as they climbed a low ridge that would take them down towards a narrow creek that would wind its way back up to the hill where the bed would become much wider, the same place they had gutted the Walkers last night. It was a shortcut from the trail they'd taken last night figuring that he didn't need to start all the way at the beginning again, although he would if it was necessary.

He stared at his companion and tilted his head at him, trying to gauge what the question really meant. Nobody had ever really questioned why it was he was so attached to Fox, they'd just accepted it. He chose his words carefully.

"Don't really matter what I see, does it? She fights for what she wants and she's no soft skinned bitch I have to take care of. She doesn't weigh me down."

Shane tilted his head as if not quite believing him. "Do you really get off on her being such a bitch all the time?"

Daryl's teeth grated so hard until they reached the point his jaw ached. "Look. You ain't got no room to talk when it comes to women. You fucked around and knocked up Lori and now Rick spends his days trying to find reasons to look you in the face and those reasons get less and less every day. So why don't you shut your fucking trap and let's just get this done, alright? The weather ain't getting any better, and I've seen at least six wolf prints in the past half hour already which means they're out and they're hunting." At that particular moment, as if God was granting him a favor, (or a curse depending on how you wanted to look at it) they both heard a long and lonely howl echoing over the icy air, rippling through the trees, reverberating around their ears sending chills down their spines.

"How many do you think?" Shane asked softly as they started moving again, clambering over felled trees that were covered in so much snow you'd barely be able to see them if not for their random branches sticking up everywhere. The rocks on the ground and the roots of the closely pressed together trees made for dangerous going and Daryl could only hope that Sophia would have remembered his advice and not gone wandering off trying to find her way back to camp. It would only be too easy for her to trip and seriously injure herself if she wasn't careful.

"At least seven or eight. Maybe more. I've only seen the pack once." He said quietly, not really paying Shane much mind. "I haven't seen a deer in the valley since last month, they're getting very desperate. I caught one trying to rob my snare last week. It ran before I could shoot it but they're starving. I wouldn't put it past them to attack us now." He said darkly.

Shane stared at the back of his skull until Daryl turned around to meet his dark eyes. "Wolves don't hunt people." Shane said, his voice suggesting not that he was afraid, but that something else was weighing on his mind although what that was Daryl didn't know, and didn't really care.

"Look at what we've eaten in the past month alone to survive out here." Daryl muttered, beckoning Shane to follow him up a shallow rise into the creek bed where the gutted remains of the Walkers still lay. As they approached the two bodies and stared down at the icy corpses Daryl's stomach rolled just a little.

"The world's different now." The hunter reiterated as he watched Shane stare down at the mangled, gutted bodies. Daryl walked away and went back to the middle of the creek bed where he'd seen the trail become damaged the night before. The snow had covered up all of the tracks on the ground but he could see there was kicks and scrapes across the bed, broken twigs and overturned rocks.

"There was a fight here." He said softly, mostly to himself, not really paying attention if Shane was listening or even following him. "Some kind of struggle…" The vegetation (or the branches that was left from it) was broken and torn, as if Sophia had climbed out of the creek bed on her hands and knees to get away from something. He saw a piece of torn fabric on a thistle of thorns along with a few fibers of hair snagged on another branch. He plucked the tuft of hair with his fingers and immediately knew by the coarse texture it was animal and not human. He rolled it between his fingers and noted the grey coloring.

"The wolves were here." He said quietly. "They must have been drawn to the sound of the Walkers or Sophia running. They chased her up the bank."

He followed the trail, going on hands and knees as Sophia must have done and he could see how her clothes must have become torn as she made her way through the thorns and scrub brush to get away. There were deep gouges in the earth where the snow hadn't been able to stick that revealed her frantic clawing motions to haul herself up, as well as deep grooves from where the wolves had been climbing after her. He made it up the side of the ravine and it was almost as if the trail completely disappeared into the snowy landscape ahead of them. Daryl took a long breath in and tore his gaze away from the ground to look up, trying to put himself in Sophia's shoes.

It would have been dark, freezing cold, the wolves would have been right behind her. Up ahead there were more trees, the river to the right, and lesser known territory to the left. From previous experience Daryl knew that she and Carl had kept mostly towards the river, and they both knew that if they became lost they could follow it back down to the shore of the lake. He went straight ahead, crossing a narrow treeless gap before the canopy closed over him again and as soon as it did he saw a shallow trail forming, not in the snow but in kicked over stones and damage to the bark on the trees. Several icicles hanging from low branches had been knocked down, probably by frantic shoulders bumping them as Sophia struggled to keep pace ahead of the wolves. He followed this pattern until he came to a small snowy glade where the trail all but came to a complete halt.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked as he caught up to Daryl who was standing in the middle of the glade. The hunter paused for a moment before giving his head a shake, trying to clear his mind. Another wolf had howled and a sudden flash of the chupacabra had hit his mind's eye like a bad hangover headache.

"Nothing. Let's go." He growled.

He kept going in the same general direction, climbing out of the glade knowing he was getting close to the river. He didn't see anymore signs of the wolves in this area, so why had she kept running? There was no evidence of a kill or even that she'd been caught by them. Had she climbed a tree to wait them out? He checked the surrounding trees for any suitable to be climbed by a little girl and though there were a few, none showed any signs of being climbed. It occurred to them as his calves began to slowly warm up from the intense incline that perhaps Sophia had been trying to gain higher ground so she could see the lake above the trees and know where to go.

"What the hell?" he asked to himself softly. He'd just climbed a small cliff where the water coming over the fifteen foot drop had completely frozen over, halting its progress. The rest of the river was also completely locked in ice as well but that wasn't what he was concerned with. There was blood spattered against several of the rocks, and even from this distance on the opposite bank of the river he could see there was broken branches and signs of a fight. Had the wolves caught up to Sophia and killed her there?

He crossed the slick but solid ice onto the opposite bank and looked at the closely packed trees for markings, letting them tell him what had happened. There was blood spilt on their trunks, scraped away bark and snapped edges on their branches. He scraped away the snow at the ground near one of them while Shane watched him with an almost frustrated expression.

"You know you could help me out here instead of standing around like a frozen piece of meat." Daryl grunted as he heaved away two or three feet of snow that had fallen during the night.

Shane rolled his eyes but crouched down to help, scraping away more of the soft powder and throwing it to the side to reveal a square foot of earth. And there in that earth were kick marks. Scrapes. A tiny piece of circular plastic that Daryl recognized immediately as a piece of shoestring.

"She was here." Daryl murmured softly. The scrapes led deeper into the woods. "She was here and she was dragged this way."

He followed the signs of a struggle and almost immediately it became abundantly clear this wasn't the work of wild animals. Wolves could move around their wintry habitat without leaving such an obvious trail. Humans, and several of them- adults with heavy shoes made this if the scrapes on some of the roots were any indication. His heart beat hard in his chest.

"Someone took her. A group rather." He said, standing up and looking at Shane. "You said you found another trail last night?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. Much further down the valley but in this direction." He answered.

Daryl looked up through the spidery canopy above his head. The thick cloud cover made it difficult but he'd had enough practice to know where the sun had risen this morning. He turned his body North to better orient himself. Sophia's trail headed towards his right, which would be East. Camp was towards the West, swinging South a little.

"Come on. Rick might be right. There could be others in these woods. Maybe they found her and took her in." Daryl said with a hurried nod. He picked up the pace moving quickly and heading East. He realized the wider, better marked trail had posts of wood dotting along it and the going itself was physically much easier. It occurred to him that was probably an actual hiking route. Perhaps whoever had found Sophia was familiar with the area or had set up roots here in some fashion, similar to the way Benjamin had.

The trail led them to a diverging path at the edge of a hundred plus foot cliff. They could head North where it would make a very gradual swing East down the side of the mountain again, or they could go South, a much sharper, more dangerous route towards the lake. Daryl paused at the cliff's edge, daring to glance over it. He wasn't really afraid of heights, but that would be a helluva nasty drop, with all kinds of rocks and debris to break your bones or impale yourself on as you went tumbling down.

"What now?" Shane asked, his teeth grinding a little in response to the fierce wind that had just picked up.

Daryl was trying to think of an answer when he saw Shane coming towards him out of the corner of his eye. His instincts pricked the back of his neck, warning them that there was something off about this situation. Like an animal that knows its about to be hunted. He loosened the strap on his buck knife subtly, making sure he kept his eyes locked on Shane at all times.

"You know this is pointless." Shane said quietly. "I'm not trying to be a hard ass or cut and run, but damn it man, look at this place. Do you really think Sophia would have survived out in this?"

Anger roiled in Daryl's veins like acid burning skin. "What the hell do you mean? Were you not listening? Someone took this little girl, maybe hostage for all we know! And you wanna pussyfoot now and go back to camp? Christ man, we're close, I can feel it!"

Shane rolled his eyes coldly. "Sure you feel it man. Whatever. I'm just being honest. Honest and realistic."

Daryl let out a snarled breath, unable to take this bullshit anymore. "No, you're a fucking lazy coward, Shane! Afraid to be responsible for anything! Afraid to take charge and make the hard calls and do the work to keep this group safe and together! And then you whine about how Rick orders you around like a bitch, well guess what, you are one! Fox has bigger balls than you do for Christ's sake!"

Shane's eyes flashed murderously. "Oh and you think you're so tough? You're so damn lucky Rick didn't see you and Merle together before he showed up to camp or you wouldn't be such a favorite of his now!" he hissed. "You let Merle brow beat you and kick you in the balls just as bad as Ed used to beat Carol! You were your big brother's bitch Daryl! I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he used to sneak into your tent and fuck you like the inbreeds you are! And you wanna tell me about taking charge? You wanna talk to me about being a man? Well fucking come on and prove it then!" His voice had deepened to a throaty growl and his eyes burned like black coals set to blaze.

Daryl snapped. The last of his control, the last of his thin shred of patience to put up with this asshole was gone. All he wanted now was to hurt him and to make him eternally sorry that they had ever crossed paths. He lunged for the man and struck him hard in the jaw with a tight knuckled fist, cracking Shane so hard his entire body spun around. Daryl pounced, trying to drag Shane to the ground to beat him into oblivion. They wrestled with each other, trying to keep their footing and to stop from going over the edge of the cliff, digging in their feet and knocking their heads around as strong fingers bit and clawed and fists tried to crush bones. Daryl stomped his foot onto Shane's causing the man to howl like a coyote with it's foot in a trap. He raised his knee up and tried to shatter the bone of his nose against his kneecap but Shane had reached around him and gripped the handle of his buck knife and yanked it free from its sheathe and in the process tore a long gash from his hip all the way up to his ribs. Daryl cried out as the intense pain bloomed up his side and flank, blood gushing free from the wound, dripping down his side in a warm scarlet river.

Shane staggered away at the sight of what he'd done. He still held the buck knife in his hand, blood sliding down the blade, dripping on the snow with crimson clarity.

"You bastard!" Daryl snarled, refusing to put his hand on the wound or to show how bad it really hurt. He reared himself up to his full height and lunged at Shane again, this time snagging the man's wrist and twisting it up his back, slamming Shane in his chest even as the bone snapped and the man let out a guttural grunt of pain and dropped the buck knife into the snow. Daryl dove for it, wrapping his handle around the blade and lunging up, about to gash Shane open when the man shoved against his side and pushed him clean over the edge of the cliff. Daryl let out a strangled cry of surprise and panic as his body free fell through the air before his back slammed onto a rock and he completely lost his breath as he continued to tumble down the cliff, picking up speed, going end over end. Had he been able to breathe properly he would have yowled with pain as a jagged rock cut open his arm as he tried to slow his descent to no avail. The impact of his body, especially on his injured side, caused unbelievable waves of agony to rip through him. At last he gave up trying to slow his descent and used one hand to grip the knife, the other to try and shield his head as he rolled like a snowball down the cliff. He slammed twice more, cracking at least two of his fingers as his hand was caught between his knife and a rock, and then finally the last hit that sent him tumbling into a bank of snow at the edge of the cliff was directly to his diaphragm and lungs.

He struggled to breathe, the wind having been kicked out of him and the immense pain roaring over every inch of his body was like a hammer straight to his lungs. He tried to inhale and another spear of torture ran through him. Panic began to constrict his conscious mind even as he writhed in the freezing pile of snow, struggling to get up to get off his back and relieve some of the pressure so he could breathe.

_Move Daryl, move! You'll die if you stay like this! Get up you fucking pussy, move! _

His arm flailed across his chest, causing a searing pain to roar through him but it didn't matter. He struggled to right himself, feeling like a turtle on its back, completely unable to coordinate his limbs. Terrified he had snapped his spine and that he was now paralyzed, he tried his best to remember how to move his feet. He felt his toes curl inside his boots and a tiny bit of relief stole through him. It gave him the will to roll to his side and get his better hand under him to force himself up. He lurched and almost landed face first into the snow but his knees held and he tried to inhale. Pain rocketed through him but he was able to get in the tiniest breath. As he took that breath his lungs convulsed and he coughed so hard he retched, spitting up blood, the scarlet droplets spraying on the snow, a sharp, dangerous contrast. His head swam as the pain continued to beat him like blacksmith's hammer on a red-hot piece of metal. He sucked in another breath and his back bowed upwards as he gagged again, spittle dripping down his lips but with another round of coughing which although caused immense pain, his lungs seemed to loosen and he could finally breathe a little easier. He staggered back onto his un-injured side and laid still in the snow, not even caring about how cold it was. It felt so good just to breathe. But soon after this revelation, the rest of the pain came back to greet him as well, chief amongst the aches the wound in his side which was still leaking blood. His pants and his shirt were already stained red and dimly he was aware of it pooling on the snow underneath him, turning the white powder crimson. He could feel more of the same liquid dripping down the side of his face from a gash near his hairline. It was threatening to spill into his eye but he couldn't be bothered to wipe it away. It hurt too much to move.

He collapsed back onto his uninjured side and lay there, letting the snow bank support him and even though it was freezing cold, he barely noticed. He actually felt relatively warm for some reason. Like he was underneath a blanket and the heat was creeping into him steadily. He managed to get his eyes open and stare up at the sky, the cold iron grey sheet above him reminding him he was stranded in the woods with his body torn open and at least one broken bone.

He wandered in and out of consciousness for a while, each time he felt himself on the verge of sleeping (which his self preservation instinct warned him would be a sleep he would never wake up from) he twitched some part of himself to stay awake. Once he tried to get back up to his feet but he just ended up collapsing back into the snow, the soft powder icy against his cheek. He rolled back onto his back and stared up at the sky again.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Daryl's eyes jerked open. He knew that voice. He'd known it all his life. The voice he had wanted to hear so much and yet had dreaded to face.

"Merle." He murmured quietly, as if he were half asleep. Bent over him he saw his big brother glaring down at him, Merle's winter sky blue eyes cold as the snow packing him in a meat cooler. His facial expression was his usual mix of contempt and sneered humor, muscled shoulders straining against his leather jacket that he always wore whenever he went riding on his bike. The bike that Daryl had taken without his permission…shit…Merle was gonna kick his ass for that…

"What's going on here baby brother? Get a little sleepy, decided to take a nap?" he asked, his rough, teasing but somewhat still menacing tone crawling through Daryl's ears like a parasite.

"Shitty day bro." Daryl said, trying to keep his eyes open. He could see Merle's face above him and the sky behind him, but both were fuzzy and slipped in and out of focus.

"Awww, that's too bad. Want me to run the bubble bath for you and light some scented candles? Maybe bring you dinner in bed afterwards?"

"Fuck off." Daryl growled. God damn it, why did Merle always have to make fun of him? He was legitimately hurt for Christ's sake. Why did he have to be such an asshole?

"Nah, you're the one who's fucked by the looks of things little brother. And for what?" He sneered, without so many words telling him he was an idiot.

"Came out here looking for Sophia, Carol's little girl. She's gone…I'm trying find her." He told himself as much as he was telling Merle. There was a purpose, a reason to this fucked up mess he found himself in. Shane…Shane was an after effect. Shane was inconsequential right now. Sophia was still out there, maybe held against her will, in the cold, going hungry, suffering…he had to do something.

"How cute, Daryl's got himself a little girlfriend." Merle jeered. "About what I expected honestly. Never could get it up for anyone legitimate huh? Well, we all got our vices little brother. Although I gotta say, that's some nasty shit."

"Screw you. I got me someone. Someone better than your five dollar whores behind the bar." Daryl rasped. Oh it hurt so much to speak, to breathe, to even think, but it felt good to throw that back in his brother's face.

"Don't tell me you've gone queer. I'll beat that sorry shit out of you if it's the last thing I do." Merle snarled. Daryl's vision swam until he felt a sharp kick in the side of his leg, bringing him back up to speed.

"She's a girl! Baddest little woman any side of the Mason Dixon line. Fuck, even you'd like her. She could kick your ass from here to Houston, Merle." His head rolled from side to side in the snow as he tried to shake the image of his brother's face from his eyes and remember what it was like when Fox would lay herself against his chest and keep him warm after a long, cold, unsuccessful hunt.

"Well is that so? You got yourself a pussy to keep you entertained, and all of a sudden you forget about me? Cause I notice, you ain't been looking for ole' Merle no more." A threatening growl slipped in-between the words even as he tried to say he was hurt by Daryl's apparent lack of concern for him.

"I tried like hell to find you. But me and Rick and the group, we had to go! Georgia wasn't safe anymore. Them things we're pickin' us off left and right." He panted. He remembered the horrible screams, the gushing of blood over blackened teeth as his friends were ripped apart right in front of him. Jim, Amy, Jacquie, Morales and his boy, T-dog, Beth…all of their faces blurred across his eyes and he squeezed them shut trying to block it out.

"So? Is Rick and those other pansy ass faggots more important to you than me? The only one who's ever cared about you in your whole miserable life? The only one who ever gave a shit about you?" Merle paused and tilted his head down at Daryl. "Is this the same Rick that cuffed me to the rooftop in Atlanta? The one that forced me to use a dull saw to hack off my own hand?" Merle's voice had dipped to a dangerous snarl.

"You didn't have to do that." Daryl insisted weakly. "Rick and I… we went back for you. All you woulda had to do was wait. We did right by you."

"You didn't do jack shit boy." Merle growled. "You let out the first chance you get, following Rick around like an obsessive virgin." He paused for a moment, tilting his head down at Daryl, a cold humor in his eyes. "You his bitch now?"

Daryl's eyes fluttered open and stared back at Merle with as much anger as he could muster. "I ain't nobody's bitch."

"Sure you are. Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. And for what? You came out here to find some kid who went and got themselves lost. And by the looks of things, whoever you was fightin' with prior to your little roll down the cliff bent you over and fucked you up good and hard. You're gonna die out here little brother, and ain't anybody gonna cry tear number one for your worthless ass."

Daryl's teeth gritted but he couldn't muster up the strength to speak in that moment. It was like the wind had been ripped out of him all over again. Thin red rage colored the edges of his vision but it wasn't enough to get him moving, just enough to leave him paralyzed with frustration. But he fought through it. He hadn't come this far to roll over now.

"You best shut the hell up or I'm gonna come over there and kick your ass."

Merle chuckled and kicked his leg again causing a wave of pain to roll through him. "Go on and try it baby brother. See how far you get. It's gotten you to the bottom of a cliff with your guts hanging out turning you into an all you can eat buffet for the wolves and the Walkers."

It was then that Daryl opened his eyes wider and looked past Merle. He thought he saw a twitch of motion at the edge of the cliff over his head and a pair of lamp like yellow eyes staring down at him. Panic began to eat its way into his heart again and he snapped his gaze back over to his brother.

"Now you listen to me, Daryl." Merle reached down and took his chin in his hand and jerked his eyes back down to meet with Merle's. "The only one who has ever cared about you, or is ever gonna care about you in your whole miserable life is me. And you owe me everything you got. So get up on your feet, before I come over there and kick your teeth in."

When Daryl didn't move Merle kicked his leg again, causing a ripple of hurt to go through him. He kicked again and then grabbed his shoulders, smacking him across the face.

"Didn't you hear me? I said get up! Get your lazy ass _up_!"

Daryl's eyes snapped open again and now he was alone. It was just the frozen air and howl of a starving wolf for company. His heart hammered in his chest and despite the wracking spasms of pain he forced himself to sit up. It was when he moved that he noticed how cold he was, his teeth immediately beginning to chatter.

His buck knife was lying in the snow behind him, blade still stained with blood. He swiped his fingers along the blade and licked the blood clean, the salty tang waking a deep hunger in him. He hadn't eaten this morning, too much in a hurry to find Sophia, and now he was badly injured and far from camp. He tried to gain his feet but staggered, having to catch himself on the icy rock bottom of the cliff to hold himself upright until the smallest bit of strength worked itself back into his legs. He was amazed they weren't broken, but the bad news that even though he could walk, his right hand was swollen and aching and it felt as though both the ring and pinky finger were broken. Judging by the way they were bent out of shape, if he didn't set them back straight soon, they'd heal crooked and be of no use to him. He sucked in a deep breath and buried his teeth into the meat of his upper left arm while he took both fingers in his left hand and pulled hard, straightening the crooked bones. A white hot blaze of agony seared through him so deep that he thought it would rip every last iota of strength out of him, so much so he did actually collapse again to his knees. He cursed and let out a deep, shaking breath, his fingers continuing to throb with heavy pulses of burning pain but at least they were straight now.

He forced himself back up to his feet and then checked his crossbow. Incredibly all of the parts were still functioning but half of his bolts had snapped or cracked on the way down the cliff. Where the hell was his gun? He'd had it strapped down to his leg but then he noticed that even the holster was missing. It must have torn free on the way down and was lying on a rock on the cliff somewhere. Great. So he was down to a buck knife, three metal bolts, with a broken hand and his body gashed open from hip to rib on his left side. The deepest part of the cut was in the meat of his flesh on his hip and was still leaking blood; the rest of the wound had stopped bleeding for the most part. He unzipped his outer jacket down to his second layer and then his under shirt, pulling it off, immediately beginning to shiver violently. He worked as fast as he could, using his buck knife to cut the sleeves off and tie them into a longer string while he folded the main body of the shirt and pressed it as tightly as he could to his hip. Then he took the sleeves and tied the cloth around himself, cinching it down as tightly as possible to help stabilize the wound and apply pressure despite the fact it hurt like hell. He sucked in another shivering breath and then quickly pulled his outer shirt on and buttoned up his coat, picking up his crossbow and resting it across his body on his good side, but even that caused an almost crippling amount of pain to go through him.

Judging by the looks of the sky, he only had a few hours left before dark. Rick would have been expecting him to be back by then, or shortly after. Shane had been the one to have the bloody flares, so there was no way to signal that he was injured and needed help. No one would come looking for him because they all knew that he preferred to be left alone, that he worked better alone…and Shane…Shane would make up some fucking story. Would he even tell him that he was dead? To make sure no one would come looking for him? He would…Daryl's gut told him so…that'd be just like him. It was a tragic accident, he slipped and tumbled down the cliff and broke his neck.

"Fuck you Shane!" Daryl snarled. "Fuck that. That is not happening. No. Hell…fucking…no."

He staggered up to his feet. He couldn't stay out here. He needed medical treatment and there was signs of yet even more snow about to fall. If he didn't make it back to camp by tonight, he would die out here, he was sure of it. Fortunately he could see a gap in the trees, and right in that gap was where the river was located. All he had to do was follow it back downstream and he'd reach the lake. If he was uninjured he could have made the trip back without a problem and reached camp by sundown, or maybe just a little after. Now he'd be lucky if he got there before midnight, but it didn't matter. He had to make it there. Fox was waiting for him. Carol was waiting for news on Sophia, and he actually had some to give her. There were no signs Sophia was dead. In fact every sign he found said she was still alive and with someone else. All they had to do was find out who and where and they would go and get her back.

He headed towards the gap in the trees, stumbling at first, blindly forcing one foot to go in front of the other. His stomach clenched with want of food but he ignored it and muscled through the impending exhaustion. He wasn't going to let Merle be right. He wasn't going to die out here. He wasn't going to let Shane leave him lying there in the snow without something to answer for. He wasn't going to leave Carol waiting and worrying, terrified for her daughter's life. And he wasn't going to break his promise to Fox. He wasn't going to leave her alone where that bastard Shane could get to her. She could take care of herself, but she had no idea the depths of his treachery. None of them did. He had to get to her, to the whole group, and expose what Shane had done, and he knew that if Shane didn't go for Rick, he would attack Fox, because Fox had his number, maybe even more so than anybody else in camp. Daryl had been blind-sided, unwilling to believe that Shane was truly capable of out right murder of someone he was unconnected with. Yes he was worried Shane might be plotting to harm Rick, but there were reasons for that. Aside from their spat over Fox on the first night at the plantation house, Shane had no reason to attempt to kill him. Something was going on with him, something deeper, something far more dangerous than jealousy. Something in him had snapped. Daryl didn't know what it was, and he didn't honestly care. The only thing that mattered was making it back to camp and making sure that the only people, one in particular, that he was willing to die for were safe.


	29. Chapter 29

**_Alright ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, we're back! And right off the bat, I shall tell you that you will get something you've been wanting for a while in this chapter. Will it be Fox's name? Shane getting what he deserves? The discovery of Sophia? The two groups colliding? Mmm, you'll just have to read and find out. Enjoy it guys! _**

**FanFicGirl10**: _Oh no! Damn Shane i really hate him. Ugh i hope Daryl makes it back to camp in time before something horrible happens. Aww i love that Daryl want to get back to Fox most of all :) Was Merle still a hallucination? Great chapter, Update Soon!_

Was Merle still a hallucination? Such an interesting question….maybe….maybe not ;)

**hayleyjune13**: _Shit! This is bad, just bad bad. Can't ya just kill Shane? :p Great chapter!_

Yeah, it ain't looking so good for our favorite redneck. Mmm, Shane and all of his issues will be resolved, one way or another ;)

**Icec**: _Aww god love you. That's heartbreaking news about your wee dog. Hope your doing ok xxx_

Awww, thanks, I love you too! It was hard putting her down (never had to do that before) but she's in a better place, and so I've been doing ok, thank you for asking, that was very kind of you =)

**Unfeigned**: _This chapter was great, I love the drama... Also I can't wait to see things go down next time. Shane is such a douchenozzle, and as such I can't wait for him to get his own. Thank you for the update! I love this story just as much now as I did when it started, and usually by this time I just want things to be over._

I'm so glad I've been able to hold your interest! This is by far the longest fanfiction I've ever written, and one of the longest things I've ever written period, but as I've said, we are beginning to careen towards the end, so hang on tight! I love the new adjectives people keep coming up with to describe Shane, it's quite entertaining =D

**WinterIsComing1015**: _First of all, yet another fabulously written chapter, nary a flaw in sight. Again your use of description is artful and magical at best - seriously, your prose is something you should be very, very proud of. Second - gah. Ok. I knew it was coming. You told us in the last chapter it was coming. I smirked. I snickered. I outright guffawed. I made some cocky, snarky comments. "Meeehhhh, kill Daryl huh?" "Pleeeeh just like that huh?" DERP. This was painful to read. I mean, obviously. He got really fucked up. But like, I was reading it like "NOOOOO BABY DARYL NOOOOOO!" Also, I was SO wrapped up in the exceedingly awful things he was going through that the "Chupacabra" episode didn't even dawn on me! *flips NY Yankees cap to the front* Yo, dat was some smoove shit, B! I loved the inclusion of his vision of Merle (although that real life rat bastard can't be too far away at this point) as well as some dialog from the show. And now I anxiously look forward to Daryl stumbling back to camp, Fox seeing him, and turning in Shane like "Homie, what did I TELL YOU! Oh, you thought I was playin', B?" And proceeds to beat. That. Ass. YEAH! THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT! I JUST KNOW IT! (...right?) *sniffles, eyes huge and tearing piteously)_

It was a little bit painful in and of itself to write Daryl getting so torn up cause I luff him so much. But all things considering…he could have easily been dead after going end over end down a 100 foot cliff and being cut deep with a knife. There is a reason why Shane didn't go down there to finish the job…who would have thought Daryl to still be alive at the end of all that? Mmmm, Chupacabra, by far one of my fav episodes of the show, so of course I paid homage to it with my own little spin here and there. And will Daryl actually make it back to camp? Bum leg, broken hand, snow's coming down, the wolves are out…things are not looking so hot for our favorite redneck. But Shane…Shane ain't out of the woods by a long shot. He'll get what he's owed, believe me. When that happens, well, just read and find out ;)

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _GO DARYL! I really hate Shane...ugh... anyway, amazing work as always and I love all the tension! I'm sorry about your dog, stay strong!_

Yes, I think Daryl needs all the cheerleading he can get at this point! But he's tough, he'll fight for it, don't you worry. Thank you for your condolences, it means a lot that you guys care about what goes on in my life =)

**Emberka-2012**: _Daryl almost guessed about Shane. His behavior is more than just a hatred for Rick. He signed a contract with the devil (with the governor)._

Aye, Daryl was pretty close. He's no fool, he knows that whatever is going on with Shane runs deeper than simple jealousy of Rick. And Shane has indeed sold his soul to the devil, perhaps unknowingly, but ignorance was never an excuse…

**Jerrie Higarashi**:_ This chapter was just amazing! The fight between Shane and Daryl was awesome as well as his Hallucination of Merle ! Right? Lol. I loved when Fox and Daryl woke up, it was wayyyy too romantic for me! Lol. KILL THA GOV'NA! Kill him!_

Haha, I try to throw a little bit of fluff in when I can cause they need all the little bits of the good times to keep them going. And was it really a hallucination? It's anybody's call in my world ;) And don't worry, there won't be any loose ends by the time we're done, every dog will have his day by the end.

**MrsGooglyBear**: _Wow, I truly enjoyed this chapter! It just made the shitty day I had today, much better! Thank you! :) As always, I'll be waiting for more of your amazing story! :D_

Yay! I'm so glad I was able to help make your day better, that's what art is for! To bring us joy and comfort and beauty especially when the world around is can be so awful sometimes.

**KassieaIsa**: _HOW DARE HE?! DAMN IT SHANE! He tried to do to Daryl what he did to Otis! That motherf*cking asshole. I hope you give him a slow and painfuul death. When Shane and Daryl started talking about the wolves I kept yelling "KILL HIM!" With this crazed and deranged look on my face. My sister was watching me the whole time and now she won't even look me in the eye :P. Oh well. "Move Daryl, move! You'll die if you stay like this! Get up you fucking pussy, move!" made me smile. I love the way that Daryl motivates himself. I cannot wait for the next chapter. Something that concerns me is Sophia's body. I hope that they dragged it away or somethhing so that Daryl won't stumble upon it._

Except with even less of a purpose. When Shane killed Otis it was so he could escape and bring medical supplies back for Carl. Now…now he tried to kill him just because Philip told him to. Not that it took all that much convincing, Shane and Daryl have never gotten along well, and Fox has always been a thorn in Shane's side, and the fact she's so close to Daryl just adds more fuel to that fire. He doesn't take her threats seriously, and he'll realize eventually how much of a mistake that is… YAY! I caused deranged excitement! Awesome! *does author happy dance* Mmhm, Daryl's self talk isn't exactly gentle, but it's effective. And to answer your question about Sophia…they let her lie there, so we will have to see if Daryl shall be the one to find her or if the grisly task will fall to someone else.

**Kaleiburzz**: _That fucking BASTARD! That's it! I want BLOOD now! And Shane's head! ... On a stick! Arrrghhh! And omg, Daryl is such a badass. You have to update soon now!_

Mmmmmmm, Shane will get his, but how of course is something you'll just have to read and find out eventually ;) And yes. I'm pretty sure if you open the dictionary to badass there is a picture of Daryl =)

**ry123red**: _ahh how could you leave it at such a terrible cliff hanger?! Fox's reaction to Shane wanting to go with Daryl was spot on, and I could totally picture her threatening him. And of course Daryl kissing her in front of everyone was just adorable. I can't wait for Daryl to return to camp and for Shane to get what he deserves! Looking forward to another chapter :)_

Mm, because its what I do best! And it's whats so good for my reviews, lol. I actually re-wrote that scene between Daryl/Fox/Shane and their dynamic several times because I wasn't quite satisfied and in the end I went with the most aggressive of the versions because that's how Fox reacts when she's afraid. Plus she hates Shane, so anything she can do to try and intimidate him is fine by her. And the PDA between Daryl and Fox was something else that I flip flopped back and forth on several times. In the end I left it end mostly based off of some of his reactions in Season 3. He's a little softer now than he was when he first started out on this insane dollar coaster ride. Plus, he really doesn't care what the rest of camp thinks of him as far as that's concerned; they all have their opinions anyway. Don't worry, Shane will get what he deserves…eventually.

**CenaGrace**: _My goodness! I've spent the past three days reading your story! I'm not kidding when I say that I've been reading it morning,noon, and night. I've even sacrificed sleep to read this. (I stayed up to midnight last night to read it and I had to be up at 5:30) I've never come across fanfiction of this quality. I'm impressed. (I've been reading it at work too!) I just simply could not put it down. You have the characters down so well while also having your own creative twists. I'm very impressed. Top notch. I look forward to your next installment._

Awww yay! Page turning worthiness work! Sleep sacrificial work! yay! These are all the things I really want for my work, not only because I put so much effort into my writing but the fact that its a creative thing that I made…yeah…just that's friggin awesome! *happy author dance* I hope I continue to hold your interest and see you write in, it always makes the Muse happy to see new and awesome reviewers drop in to share their thoughts =D

**Emerald Gaze**: _Well then i hope fox is standing by with her blades cuz shane's gonna need an executioner ben too for when daryl gets back. But if daryl doesn't get back before the other group goes through with phase 2 of their plan then there wont be time for medical attention. Also i'm really curious to see if fox would kill shane first or try to go looking for daryl. I feel like killing him would be first priority but the others probably wouldn't let her so she'd go tearing off in the woods to look for him. as for merle i had a feeling that it was hallucination merle, he didn't to show up in before but he still made an appearance on the search for sofia after daryl falls down a cliff. I hope andrea doesn't shoot daryl this time but then again she's had training by now. Oh the suspense!_!_

Fox will definitely stand by her blades. She made a promise and she ain't gonna back down now. She's fiercely protective of Daryl and she's honestly just been looking for an excuse to kill Shane, and that's what separates her from someone like Rick. Rick killed Shane in the show for both the safety of the group and the selfish stress of being unable to handle his explosive temper anymore. Fox would kill Shane purely to make him pay for what he's done, regardless if it would hurt, or help, anybody else. Now of course the rest of the group (or at least some of them) will have a problem with this, and so I look forward bringing that conflict into the spotlight soon. And yes, there is still that deadline of the other group weighing over everything. I have it all planned out and I can't wait to bring it to you =D

**thedeadwalking91**:_ I am impressed you noticed me as a new reviewer! I was so gripped by your story that I couldn't stop to review until I had caught up! What a chapter as well! I sympathized with Shane in the story, but always preferred Rick and Daryl! I hope Daryl makes it back and that Fox hasn't run away thinking he is dead! Also, what if he finds Sophia as well?! Soo much angst for the redneck! Such a good story, and I tend to shy away from the badass female characters, but this one works! I hope fox reveals her name as well! Maybe she will if she finds Daryl in a bad way...I can theorize! I'm new to all this writing and reviewing thing, and it means a lot for you to notice that I am new! Thank you! Now hurry up and update! Got to read something when I get in from work! :-)_

Of course I notice a new reviewer! Most of my reviewers are regulars to my story and so I definitely notice if there is a new name up. Wildflower has brought me so many reviews, so much more than I EVER expected, but I still treasure and value each and every one, which is why I take the time to personally reply to each of them, no matter how short or long. I agree, I sympathized with Shane in the show, but I didn't devote as much time to his internal conflict in my own story because its center is Daryl and Fox and how their dynamic changes things. And I'm so glad Fox didn't run you off, I know that especially in the beginning she could be a tough pill to swallow, so I'm thrilled you stuck around! I hope I see you through to the end!

* * *

Night had come and gone and everyone had made it back except Daryl and Shane. Fox's level of worry had risen increasingly throughout the day as not only she and Rick turned up nothing on the trail they'd found, but also because after they'd trudged their way through the snow and made it back to camp, there had been no word or sign of either of them. The darkness was deepening and as Fox sat by the fire, slowly picking at a plate of mostly cold food, her stomach began to seethe with worry. It wasn't like Daryl to stay out late like this, not when he knew how dangerous these woods could be at night, not with how cold it was. Not when he promised her he'd be back.

"He should have been back by now." She said, staring deep into the flames as the rest of the group tensed right along with her.

"I'm sure they're ok." Lori whispered, but all the same she unconsciously looked at Rick and Carl and a small flicker of relief passed over her face and a spike of jealousy struck Fox like a cold steel blade in the back of the neck.

"She's right." Andrea murmured. "They should have been back. No one is supposed to be away from camp after dark, not without a solid reason."

"Maybe they found Sophia." Glenn chimed in. "Maybe she's injured and they need to wait for light to move her."

Carol curled her knees up to her chest, doing everything but biting at her lip, a picture perfect of a parent's anxiety over their child. Her cheeks were already stained with fresh tears from when Rick and Fox had come back with no news or any sign of her daughter. Pain had washed over Fox from that disappointment and ever increasing worry. Everyone knew that the longer she was out there alone, the less likely it was that she was alive. It wasn't just the cold or lack of food that was the problem. There were predators in the woods, and Walkers, and if Sophia really was hampered by an injury, her odds of survival were that much less.

"Then why didn't they send up the flares?" Fox demanded hotly.

"They could have gotten lost…maybe not realized it yet…" Dale supplied quietly.

"Daryl's no fool!" Fox snapped. "He knows his way around these woods, and the wilds in general. He wouldn't have gotten lost. Shane, maybe, but Daryl, no way." Her teeth were bared and her fingers clenched around the handle of her bowie knife. "Something's happened to them."

"We don't know that." Rick said firmly, but the rasp in his voice said otherwise. "And the last thing we need is for anyone else going off in the dark and getting lost."

Fox looked at him long and slow for a moment before handing what remained of her plate to Carl and his mother before getting up to her feet. She stalked directly towards Rick and Lori's tent which made him immediately get up and follow her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

She didn't answer. She just ducked into the tent and snatched the folded up map that was contained it is plastic bag to help keep it from being damaged and slid it under her jacket, keeping it in place with parts of her belt.

"I'm going out there to find him." She said firmly. She stalked off towards the trees, the same direction Daryl had taken that morning, but didn't make it very far before Rick grabbed her by the arm.

"Oh no! You are not going _anywhere_!" he hissed, glancing at her neck where the chain of their shared secret hung beneath her coat.

She shook him off and kept going. "Try and stop me." She challenged as she walked away.

"Fox, no!" Rick snarled, running in front of her and now, his eyes blazing like two blue coals threatening to start a wild fire. "I can't let you. It's too dangerous. We need every able body here at camp. The wolves have been howling all night, if something happens, we need every person to defend each other!"

Her eyes burned like diamonds set to blaze. "I'm not going to let him die out there." She growled.

"I understand!" Rick pleaded, stepping in front of her again as she tried to go around. "You care about him and you're worried. I would be worried out of my mind if it were Lori or Carl. But with as dangerous as it is out there, the dropping temperature, the threat of snow, the wolves right outside camp…I can't let you go. I need you here." He put a hand on her shoulder, holding her at arm's length, tilting his head as he stared into her eyes, really trying to get through to her how serious he was being.

Fox seemed to pause, as if considering his plea more seriously. She rocked back on her heels for a moment, choosing her words carefully. When she did finally speak, a judge sentencing a man to death couldn't have held more conviction.

"No, Rick Grimes, you don't understand. You've never been abandoned by those who were supposed to love and protect you. Not when it counted most. Not when you needed them most. Daryl's not lost out there. He's injured, severely enough that he hasn't been able to make it back to camp. He could be dying. He needs us. I understand you have responsibilities to the group and why you want me to wait. I'm sure that if it were daylight or if we were back in Georgia and the weather wasn't so horrible you would go yourself. But to me, the risk is worth it." She paused and took a long breath in, as if having to dare herself to continue. "He's all I have. Now, get out of my way, before I physically move you." Her fingers curled around her bowie knife to emphasize her point.

Rick stared at her long and hard for many long moments as if trying to decode some secret language. "Daryl could be dead, Fox. You may just be looking for a body. What happens then?"

"Then I'll bring his body back!" she snapped, and for the very first time he'd known her, Rick heard her voice crack with fear. "Not leave him to the wolves."

Rick nodded. "Be careful out there." He murmured slowly.

She managed a half-smile and put a hand on his shoulder, releasing her grip on her knife. "Thank you. You are a good man, Rick. Now, don't worry about me. Watch the group, keep them safe, I'll be back soon." She squeezed his shoulder and tilted her head at him, locking eyes for a moment. And for a moment, she wondered if maybe in another life, if she had met him in a different time and place, if he would have been the one she would have braved a New York winter wilderness for. If he would have been the one she sang for. If he would have been the one to take her jagged pieces and make them whole. She smiled again for him and kissed his cheek before stepping past him and heading into the darkness.

It was understandable why he made no mention of Shane in trying to stop her. He knew that she would never so much as set foot out of her tent if Shane was bleeding to death, let alone into the wilderness to find him. Somehow, and she had no proof, but she was still almost a hundred percent certain, that Shane was somehow responsible for whatever had happened to Daryl. And if he was, if he was hurt or dead because of him, she would not rest until she had fulfilled her promise. She would kill him, slowly, painfully, ripping him open inch by inch until the snow was saturated with blood and she'd strung him up by his own guts to leave him for Walker bait. She didn't care what Rick or Lori or even Daryl would say about it. Nothing and nobody was going to stop her. If Shane was responsible…he would pay.

She hunted through the shadows, listening to the howling of the wolves. The darkness pressed in on her as the wolf-song and the moaning of the wind cut her down into the bone and made her blood run cold. She gritted her teeth and ignored it and marched on, climbing over the rough terrain, following the trail they had taken last night on the hunt for Sophia. The time ticked away as she hunted for any sign or trace of either man, wondering how far they had gone, what they might have found, and the fate that had befallen them. The icy cold moon climbed higher in the sky, spilling silver moonlight down onto the ground below, helping to light her path. She had climbed all the way to the top of the river where the first waterfall was completely frozen over and finally stopped to catch her breath, foggy billows puffing from her mouth as she did so. She was freezing cold despite her jacket, shivering violently as flakes of snow began to swirl on the air. She pulled the map out and unfolded it, marking where she was with her finger and where Sophia's trail had been. It gave her a point of reference, but besides that she had nothing to go on, nothing to tell her where he might have been, or where he might have ended up.

She folded up the map and tucked it away and then stared out at the terrain in front of her, a vast expanse of forest that led back down to the lake and camp which was over four miles away by now. The stars gleamed cold and bright in between the heavy banks of clouds, her breath fogging like an angry bull's as she got back up to her feet. It was as she was about to turn away, she caught the sight of movement down below. Stretching almost half a mile away down the river, she saw a writhing motion. Whatever was making it was large and moving fast for her to see it this far away. She heard excited yelps and high, thin cries of pain and her heart leapt up from her chest to hit between her teeth.

"Daryl!" she yelled.

She launched herself back down the hill, going at record time to try and see what was happening. She heard no response from her cry, but as soon as she was down the rocky slope she ran flat out, boots kicking up snow and rocks as she plunged forward, snaking down the side of the river, leaping over roots and other debris, vaulting over rocks until at last her quarry came into view.

The wolves were encircled around a piece of prey, tearing at it with hungry, slicing fangs, eyes gleaming like polished orange stones set to blaze in the moonlight. As soon as they saw her approach they whirled on her, snarling with rage, bloody salvia dripping from their teeth. One approached her, snapping its jaws, black fur standing on end as its lips wrinkled to bare its teeth, rumbling growls emerging from its throat. And behind the wolves lay Daryl, bleeding from dozens of bite wounds, limp body twisted at a very odd position in the snow. The other wolves were still tearing at him, jerking him back and forth as they ripped through his outer jacket to get at the meat on his bones.

Fox let out an animalistic cry of her own and pulled two knives and flung them hard, striking one wolf right in the chest, another in the shoulder. The closest one to her she slashed with her loosed kukri knife, the blade biting deeply into its shoulder and back, dropping it with a pained cry. She shoved herself between the other animals and Daryl and crouched over him, swinging her blades wildly, her teeth bared as she dared them to try and take back their meal.

They sprung at her all at once, smacking her into the snow on her back. She screamed violently, kicking them as much as she could, raising her arm for a strike but she felt a muzzle sink deep into her right arm and bite down almost hard enough to break the bone. A strangled screech of pain ripped her throat in two while she used her good arm to slash another wolf away while she tried to jerk her arm back from the one biting her. She kicked the animal in the chest but it still wouldn't let go. It savaged its head back and forth, tearing deep, bloody gouges into the flesh while she howled miserably. Another wolf sank its muzzle deep into her left shoulder, blood gushing free from the wound. Anger flooded her veins like a dam breaking giving her the strength she needed and the clarity from the pain to fight back. She thrashed with all her might and used her left hand to pull her bowie knife free from her belt. She stabbed the wolf that had her right arm in the neck, blood gushing free as she yanked it back. Another wolf was biting at her feet but the teeth hadn't gotten through her boot yet. She kicked it as hard as she could and tore her shoulder free of the other, whirling around and stabbing the animal in the side of the head. It dropped like a ton of bricks and then she was on her feet, bowie in one hand, kukri in the other, snarling like she was one of them.

"Come on!" she growled. "Come and get him!"

The three remaining wolves yelped and fled back into the trees, leaving their fallen pack-mates behind. As soon as she was confident they were gone, she dropped her knives and got down on her knees next to Daryl.

He was a mess, more than a mess. He was a chewed up piece of meat left to rot on the side of the freezing highway. His jacket was crusted with ice and dried blood, there was more scarlet fluid staining the side of his head. He was pale and barely even shivering even though when she put her hands against his skin he was ice cold. She felt for a pulse at his throat and was relieved to feel one, but it was thin and weak. She had to get him out of here. He'd die of hypothermia if she didn't get him warmed through soon.

"I got you, Daryl, I got you." She panted as she pulled him upright, his head lolling on his neck, jaw mostly slack as she draped his arm over her shoulders and began to haul him to his feet. Her arm and shoulder screamed in protest as more blood spilled down but she ignored it as best she could. She dragged him forward, his feet scraping the snow, piling it up into mini drifts in front of his feet. He was completely dead weight against her and without meaning to she slipped under the burden and collapsed into a tangled pile of limbs and powder.

"God damn it!" she cursed. She rolled Daryl onto his back and lightly smacked his cheek.

"Daryl! Open your eyes! Come on, get your eyes open, look at me, I need you to stay with me!" Wonder of wonders his eyes actually fluttered open, but they were a foggy haze of the cobalt blue she truly knew.

"Get off of me." He growled, trying to roll to his side. "I don't need your help."

"Oh yes you do, you miserable idiot. Get up on your feet!" she barked at him, using her good shoulder to nudge him in the chest and help give him support as he staggered to his feet, still mostly leaning on her.

"Go away!" he muttered as he tried to shake her off. "I can do this without you!'

Her brows knitted together in confusion. Now this didn't sound like him. He legitimately sounded angry. She forced him to stand, pressing against his shoulder to help keep him upright.

"Hey, look at me. What's my name?" she asked, snapping her fingers in front of his hazy blue eyes. "What's my name!" she demanded.

"You're Merle you dumbass. Told you the pipe would rot your brain jackass." He growled, shaking his head like a dog does with a bone.

Fox's stomach clenched. He was conscious but he wasn't anywhere near lucid. The blow to his head could have addled his brain. She hoped to God it wasn't permanent, but she decided that she had better play along to get him to cooperate.

"Alright, I'm Merle and you're Daryl. Now get something through your thick skull. I have to get you out of here. Can you walk?" she asked looking down and trying to assess his legs but in the darkness and with him staggering over her, it was hard to tell if he had any damage to them.

He nodded but the motion was over exaggerated. Bad sign.

"Ok. Come on then. Let's go." She slung his arm over her shoulder and pushed him more upright and began to walk him further down the river. She knew exactly where they were going, where he probably had been trying to go himself. She just had to make it there before they both froze to death or before he lost all semblance of consciousness.

* * *

When he woke the first thing he registered was that it was warm. The second thing was that he was still in a great deal of physical pain. The third was the snapping crackle of a fire. When his eyes opened he saw the amber glow back splash against a stone wall, shadows flicking at the edges of the golden light.

"Steady." A husky voice murmured. "You've been out of it for a while."

The hazy edges of his vision began to clear. He turned his head and saw Fox tending the fire, snapping a few small sticks and feeding them to the flames. She had her coat off and as he soaked in her image he looked across at her arm and saw the gouges there.

"You're hurt." He rasped, immediately trying to reach for her.

"Don't I said." She murmured softly. "I'm ok. How do you feel?" she asked him, green eyes tinged with the golden light of the flames.

He stopped to take a mental assessment of himself. "Like shit." He answered honestly. Every inch of him was sore, he was voraciously hungry, and there were several specific points on his body that it felt like had been pride open with a dull ice pick.

She nodded. "I expected as much." She murmured. "You took a helluva beating out there."

He swallowed hard for a moment to get his words back, but before he could do so she reached over and handed him a shallow little bowl she'd made out of a piece of wood that showed recent signs of being hacked at with one of her knives. She held it to his lips and let him drink the water there before setting it back down near her knee.

"Where is Shane?" he asked.

"Gone. Never came back to camp. I was hoping you would know." She said, looking at him carefully out of the side of her eye.

"He did this." He said, rolling a little so he was more comfortable. He traced his fingertip down the wound across his side and noted that it did indeed still hurt, but its pain was more manageable than before. "He tried to kill me. He left me for dead."

Fox nodded. "When I found you and not him, I suspected as much. He will get what he's owed, Daryl. One way or another." Her tone was murderous and yet restrained somehow, like a verbal representation of her fingers curling around the handle of her knife.

He ignored her advice and sat up enough so he could take in their surroundings. Yes, this had the place he'd been trying to get to. He'd gone maybe half a mile from the cliff's edge where he'd fallen when he realized that he was never going to make it back to camp in his state and he had to get out of the blizzard. The wolves had caught up with him before he'd made it. This little cave, tucked beneath one of the falls in the river, was just big enough for two people and a fire comfortably. He and Fox had sheltered here once on a trip to check his snares and the weather had turned nasty. Now it seemed it served a similar purpose.

"You brought me all the way here?" he asked incredulously as he watched her tend the fire.

She nodded. "Course. Wasn't gonna let you freeze to death out there."

His jaw tightened. "You shouldn't have left camp." He growled, noting the bites on her arm and on her shoulder as well. Those would scar, probably permanently, and she was running risk of them getting infected. Fortunately Benjamin still had a good supply of antibiotics back at camp. As soon as they got back he'd make sure she took every last one of them if that's what it took.

"Oh right, like I was going to let you get killed out here." She snapped. "You can be so dense sometimes."

He rolled his eyes. "Stubborn bitch." He mumbled, but without any real anger. "I told you to stay and watch Rick's back. You could have gotten yourself killed and eaten. Why did you come all this way for me?"

She snapped another stick and fed it into the fire. "Cause you're mine. And I wasn't gonna let you get away." Her husky voice rumbling in her throat as she answered. "Dumbass."

He shifted uncomfortably and not just the physical kind. "I don't belong to anybody." He muttered.

She sat back up sitting cross legged next to him. She rested her arms on her knees and looked over at him, her messy hair tumbling down her chest while her eyes pierced through the haze of smoke from the fire and the half light of the cave. "You're mine, Daryl. And I don't like to share what belongs to me. Shane tried to kill you and Rick…Rick would have made a terrible mistake if I hadn't made up my own mind to come out here. I won't let that happen. You are mine, and I ain't letting go." She growled seriously.

He looked at her incredulously, trying to understand if he was perceiving this all wrong because he'd cracked his head on a rock or if she'd lost her marbles. "What the hell are you talking about?"

She cracked a small smile, one of his favorites. The slow knowing kind when she was about to enlighten him and make something clear when it came to her and her crazy way of trying to relate information from her vortex of a brain.

"You've been mine since the night we locked eyes at camp, way back when I was stealing from you. I knew you were different then. I didn't know how much I'd care about you at the time of course, I didn't know what you'd mean to me. But I knew you were mine. And that I was yours." She paused for a moment, considering her words carefully. "That was why I stayed close to you. Put in the effort to get to know you, to be near you. I had my reasons. Selfishly motivated perhaps, but since when have I been a philanthropist? You are mine, Daryl. And I'm yours. We understand each other, and what's more, we accept each other for everything we are, and everything we're not. You belong to me, and I belong to you." She titled her head down at him and smiled again.

He stared at her for a long time. "You've lost your mind. What this thing is that we've got going, Fox, it's good, and I don't want it to stop. But I don't belong to nobody. Never have, never will." He spoke with brittle honesty. He cared for her in a way he'd never had for anybody else, or probably would ever care for anybody else ever again, but he wasn't a pet that she could snap her fingers and have him sit pretty at her command.

Her eyes burned with a fierce golden light. Without warning she leaned over, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, hauled his head up and kissed him. Kissed him hard, harder than she ever had before. Her tongue pride his lips open and ran rampant in his mouth, inhaling the taste of blood and pain and confusion and a rapidly increasing heated passion that was about to drive every non-emotionally charged thought out of his skull. And she just wouldn't let up. More and more and more, her tongue pressed all around his mouth, so much so that he groaned for want of air and reached his good arm up to tighten his fingers in her hair and crush her even harder against him. He might have been weakened, but he wasn't out, and so he fought back, kissing her just as hard, biting at her lip a little until he tasted copper on his tongue. Now it was her turn to whimper and gasp into his mouth, her body shaking even as her nails nicked into the nape of his neck as she struggled to remain in control. When she finally let him go so he could gulp down a shaky breath she grinned her mischievous little smirk.

"See? You're mine. Don't even try and deny it." She sounded so pleased with herself that it made him laugh at the sheer humor of it all.

"Fox." He murmured softly. His tone of voice caused her to lose her grin and look at him more seriously. "For the love of God, woman, tell me your name. Please."

She bit her lip. "Why is it so important to you? It's just a label that doesn't belong to me anymore."

He shifted again so he could sit up properly and she scooted closer to him, keeping an eye on the fire as she did so as to not burn her legs.

"What else do I not know about you?" He asked softly. "We put the secrets behind us, didn't we? I've seen you kicking and screaming strung up in a tree like a piece of Walker bait. I saw you screwing Glenn and as mad as I was then, I get it now. I've seen every single feeling you could possibly have- hell I've even seen you scared. Are you really afraid that if I know that last little thing that anything will change? Fox…a day ago I was ready to take you and the bike and get the hell out of here. I still would if you wanted me to. Say the word and we'll go and I wouldn't regret anything. I'd take you anywhere you wanted. I have your back." He sat up and took her by the hand, his fingers twining into hers, pulling her close so his forehead gently touched hers. "And if something ever happened to you…if you got bit…I would do what I had to do. I wouldn't let you walk around as one of those things." His voice was soft but strong, rolling in his throat like deep water churned by steady currents and not for the first time she wondered how he could sound so rough but gentle at the same time.

He heard her suck down a heavy breath and he saw her jaw flinching as she held back tears. Her hair fell around her face, her long messy bangs sliding against his skin as she took her free hand and curled her fingers into the dark strands at the nape of his neck.

"What's wrong?" He didn't understand what it was that was making her upset. Yes, the day in and of itself had been a bitch, they were both injured and hungry and tomorrow they had a helluva fight to get back to camp, but in this second, he didn't know what could be making her almost cry.

Her lips twitched into a half smile, more of it lingering in her eyes. "I almost lost you today, and I can't really get my head around it. Because if I lost you, I don't know if I could do this anymore."

He shook his head firmly. "No. Don't think like that. I'm ok. I've been better, but soon as we get back to camp, Benjy will go to work on me, and you, and it will be alright. We'll deal with Shane when the time comes. We'll find Sophia, and we'll see the end of this fucking winter, ok? Everything will be fine." He wasn't used to this; he wasn't used to someone needing him to hold them together emotionally like this, but he wanted her to know that he had every confidence that they were going to make it. One way or the other.

She nodded very slowly. "I'll tell you. If you promise to say nothing to anybody else. It's only for you, ok?"

He dared to kiss her lips gently, just a warm touch between them before nodding. "Promise." He murmured.

For a moment she closed her eyes and let go of a long breath, her fingers still rhythmically stroking the edges of his hair. When she lifted her head and opened her eyes, the only thing he could see was trust, and something else. He knew what it was and it caused a tremor to go through him, but he wasn't going to pull away, not now. Not when it was true, not when it was thrumming through him so strongly that he couldn't think of anything else.

"Dahlia." She whispered.

He smiled for her and with his good hand he stroked her cheek, twining his fingertips into her messy hair. He rolled her name on his tongue, saying it back to her gently until she smiled back at him.

"It's beautiful." He said, and beneath those words was all she would ever need to know in what he truly meant. She nuzzled his neck and throat and hummed softly before finding her words again.

"I love you."

He kissed the crown of her head, inhaling her smell of woodsy smoke and wildness and felt his head swim. He didn't know where this would lead him, and he didn't care. He had nothing else to lose, nothing left to hide, nothing left to hold him down. But he had her. She was real and as much as he sometimes couldn't believe it, she was more important than the pain and the scars and all of the things he'd held onto so tightly from Before. Before when it was him against the world. He had his own personal world now, and she functioned at the center of it. Rick and the group circled around, completing the rest of his little solar system, and he would have died to protect them. But she was the reason for it. It had been true for so long, he couldn't ignore it anymore.

"I love you too."

She looked straight into his eyes and somehow the look they shared was more intimate than any of the sex they'd ever had. And she sealed it to him with another soft press of her lips on his.

She shifted her position and leaned against the wall of the cave and very gently pulled him to lay against her, his head resting over her chest and he could hear the beating of her heart thrumming strongly in her chest. He could smell the blood from her wounds, but beneath that she still smelt like the woods and smoke and himself and he was soothed somehow, especially when her fingers repeatedly stroked through his hair.

"There's nothing else to say. Nothing else to know. You have the last of me. You have what remains of the world I once knew. Just like I have you. Twisted chains of red and gold, you hold me close and now I know. Now I know, I'm not alone. I have the last of you, safe inside myself, inside my soul, in the silver light from the pale ivory moon."

She sang the words softly barely above a whisper, just enough to carry the simple tune. It was gentle like a lullaby but so completely honest it was enough to make him stay awake to continue to listen to her hum it over and over again. She kept repeating the words over and over until finally he was lulled away from consciousness and into a deep, heavy sleep.

* * *

"Thank fucking God." Fox panted. The tree line and the shore of the lake was in sight. She and Daryl had set out from their refuge even before dawn broke and it was past noon now. She had done what she could to brace the wound in Daryl's side, but she had nothing to bandage the bites to his limbs or to set the bones in his hand. The wounds on her arm and shoulder had only continued to increase with pain and discomfort during the night as she drifted in and out of wakefulness, always making sure to have a finger on Daryl's pulse point to ensure he was still alive. But his heart had beat strong during the night and by the time they had set out he was much more like himself. She'd had to help him almost every step of the way and now her back and shoulders were screaming from the effort of supporting him over the rough terrain because more than a small amount of pressure on his damaged leg and it would give out and he'd collapse. She'd checked him over as best she could and there didn't seem to be any major injuries, but he had lost a lot of blood and he was physically weak from hunger. She'd all but dragged him the last mile or so.

There was a sharp whistle from the lookout tree and Fox's heart thudded with relief as she saw people running towards them. Daryl's arm was slung over her shoulder, his head lolling down near his chest. He'd toughed it out the first two and a half miles, but the last two had been grueling and at this point he could barely stand up.

"Calvary's coming." She told him, a wide, stupidly relieved grin on her face as she hauled Daryl forward another few paces. When she looked up again she could see who was coming towards her- Dale, Glenn, Maggie, and Andrea, all of them running flat out fast and hard over the snow.

"Oh my God, is he dead?" Andrea panted as they skidded to a halt in front of the bloody, bedraggled pair.

"Daryl!" Fox barked, all but dropping him as her back finally gave out. He collapsed into the snow, unmoving and a current of fear shot through her. She reached down and felt for a pulse and let out a long breath of relief when it was still there.

"He's just unconscious. Maggie, go get Benjamin tell him to get his shit together, he needs medical attention." Fox panted as she and Glenn maneuvered themselves under Daryl's arms and hauled the unconscious man to his feet to drag him forward. The brunette nodded and took off running back towards the tents.

"What happened?" Dale demanded as he kept a sharp eye along with Andrea for anything that might have been coming behind them.

"Shane." She snarled, her eyes flaming with hatred. "Daryl said Shane tried to kill him."

"What?" Andrea sucked in a sharp breath, her voice soft and completely unbelieving. "Why would he do something like this?"

Fox whipped around to the blonde woman all but baring her teeth. "Ask him yourself!"

"Shane's gone. So is Rick. When Shane didn't come back in by dawn Rick went out to look for him. He hasn't been back since." Dale explained hurriedly.

"Ah shit." Fox snarled, anger and frustration combining with the pain and spilling over finally. "I'll kill that sorry bastard myself!"

"Nobody's killing anybody." Dale tried to soothe the situation. "When Rick comes back with Shane and we patch up Daryl we'll figure out what happened and we'll handle it then."

Fox's eyes had not lost their murderous glow but she fell silent, at least on that particular topic. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other but finally her injured shoulder could take no more and her hold on Daryl slipped. She staggered and fell out from under him, stumbling into the snow, unable to catch herself and going down in a pile of bloody limbs and red hair. Dale lunged to support Daryl before he could fall face first into the snow as Fox struggled to get to her feet.

"Are you ok?" Glenn panted as Andrea helped her to get up.

"When I found Daryl the wolves had already gotten to him. Then they got to me." She explained. She winced heavily and tried to ease the pain in her shoulder but it was to no avail. The bite wounds bled with every motion of her arm and she knew the sooner Benjamin could patch her up the better off she would be.

Dale and Glenn hauled Daryl back to camp and took them to Rick and Lori's tent, the largest one in camp, and Fox could see Benjamin's pale blonde hair in the watery sunlight streaming from between the clouds as he whipped back and forth, gathering all of his supplies.

"Come on, get him inside!" the medic barked as they got closer. Dale and Glenn heaved him inside and then onto the air mattress that Lori had been using after stripping it of the sheets. They all crowded inside except for Andrea who went to tell Lori, Carol, and Carl what had happened and Benjamin staked down the thermal blanket door to keep the heat in, a pile of medical supplies near the head of the bed.

The medic made short work of Daryl's coat and under layers of clothes to get at the flesh and bones. The predator's teeth had bitten through most of the layers but the wounds were relatively shallow. The main injury was definitely the gash to his hip.

"This was no animal bite." Benjamin muttered as he peeled off the makeshift bandage Daryl had used to try and stem the bleeding. "This was clean cut." As he pulled the cloth away more blood trickled free, slower than it had been last night but it was still oozing considerably more than anyone would have wanted to see.

"Ok, first things first, I need to get this clean and pull the debris out, then I can stitch this. As soon as this is stitched up, I can give him a bag of O-neg. Everything else looks like flesh wounds." He gently ran his fingertips over Daryl's chest and abdomen, pressing down, moving in slow circles down his body. "I don't feel any broken ribs or tension in his gut, so I don't think he has internal bleeding. What exactly happened to him?" Benjamin asked as he pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and Fox helped him roll Daryl's pants down just enough to see the full extent of his injury. The wound was crusting with dried blood and even the skin trembled as Benjamin's light touches felt around its edges.

"Can we give him a painkiller, please? He fell down a hundred foot cliff. He broke two fingers in his hand and we walked the whole way back." Fox stated as she got down on her knees next to Benjamin, wincing as her shoulder and arm gave a painful throb.

"He fell down a cliff? How did that happen?" Dale asked worriedly.

"Shane. Shane either stabbed him and pushed him off the cliff or stabbed him and he fell and Shane left him to die down there. When I found him the wolves had chewed him through pretty badly." Fox answered. The growing heat in the tent caused her to shed her jacket and her own bites were clearly visible through her long sleeve shirt. Glenn winced audibly when he saw the still bleeding mess of her shoulder.

"Christ…" he whispered, his skin tinged with the green of nausea.

"You'll both need antibiotics after this." Benjamin muttered as he rifled through his supplies for a pair of heavy-duty tweezers. "And to answer your question, I need to make sure his respiratory system won't shut down first. As soon as I finish stitching him up I'll give him a bag of O-neg and some saline to help get his fluid levels back to where they should be, and then a dose of painkiller."

He went ahead and sterilized the wound on Daryl's hip, the icy cold iodine staining his skin rusty brown and causing Daryl to twitch. His eyes fluttered open and he saw Benjamin leaning over him, his pants undone and rolled past his hips.

"The hell you think you doing boy?" he growled.

"Digging a stick out of your hip." Benjamin muttered absentmindedly, hardly paying the hunter any mind. Indeed, the only time he had a spine was when someone underneath him was injured.

"Daryl. Hold still, alright?" Fox reminded him, using one hand to find his good one and squeeze his fingers as Benjamin dove in with the tweezers and began to dig small pieces of grit and other debris out of the cut. Daryl hissed through gritted teeth, the three fingers on his damaged hand curling into the side of the air mattress with vicious force.

"Hold still!" Benjamin barked as Daryl squirmed, teeth sinking down into his lip as the painful extraction of the debris that had gotten into his cut continued.

Daryl spat a string of profanity as Benjamin continued pulling little bits of the outside world out of the wound. When he finally had it all out he poured another healthy dose of iodine into the wound and rubbed it in, causing Daryl to twitch and eventually pull completely away.

"Enough!" he snarled, his blue eyes flashing violently.

Benjamin rolled his eyes. "Ok fine, get some weird blood infection and turn into a pool of frozen goo, see if I care." He muttered. He approached Daryl with the needle and thread for the sutures and Daryl looked up at Fox with an exasperated expression. He squeezed her fingers so hard that she was sure the bone was at least bruised and by the time he let go it took her several tries to be able to flex them.

"Seven stitches, not bad." Benjamin said as he tied off the thread. "The rest of the wound is shallow enough it doesn't need it. You'll need to change the dressings at least twice a day, preferably three, keep it dry and keep an eye on it. If it starts changing colors, hurting worse than usual, or oozing, tell me immediately." He popped two pills into Daryl's hand along with a bottle of water. "That will stave off any impending infection long enough for your immune system to get into gear. Dale will you hand me that bag of O-neg and saline please?" he asked, gesturing to a cardboard box near the door of the tent.

"I don't need that stuff." Daryl muttered after he finished swallowing down the pills.

"Oh yes you do. I can just tell but the fact your gums are damn near white you've lost a lot of blood." Benjamin insisted. He helped him sit up against the wall of the tent and uncapped the needle. He tried unsuccessfully to tap a vein, through which Daryl hardly seemed to notice, but after he missed on the second try, the man's head came up and he stared ruthlessly at the medic.

"If you miss again, I'ma take that needle and shove it somewhere you ain't gonna like." He warned. Benjamin blanched and Fox couldn't help but snicker.

Third try was the charm and Benjamin took the bag of blood from Dale and hooked it into the line. There was a small hook attached to the wall of the tent that Benjamin hung the blood up on to let it drip at a slow but steady rate into Daryl's veins. He repeated the process for the saline on Daryl's other arm which caused Daryl to roll his eyes and shift uncomfortably after the line was in.

"Jesus I look like a hedgehog caught in a spider web." He muttered as he tried to get comfortable. Fox snickered a little and he glared at her with empty anger. Benjamin helped readjust the lines of plastic tubing before turning to Fox.

"Alright, your turn Red." He said, tilting his head to indicate for Fox to sit down next to Daryl.

Fox huffed a quiet breath and shifted to sit next to Daryl. Benjamin pulled her injured arm forward by the wrist, extending it and rolling back the sleeve to get a better look at the bite.

"Christ, did they play tug of war with your arm?" he muttered as he started pouring iodine on it, rubbing it in deep causing Fox to hiss and snag her bottom lip in her teeth.

"No, they were giving me puppy kisses." Fox said sarcastically. After Benjamin cleaned the wound and washed away most of the dried blood, it revealed two deep gashes diagonally cut along the length of her arm where the wolf's teeth had bitten in and pulled back like a steak knife slicing a piece of meat.

"This isn't really deep enough to require stitches." Benjamin commented as he turned her arm over in his hands as necessary to make sure he'd cleaned it well and then he picked up the tweezers again. "But it will probably scar over. So congrats on your first series of battle scars from the end of the world."

He picked through the wound and pulled out any pieces of debris causing Fox's feet to twitch and curl while Daryl's good hand found hers and he curled his fingers through her own, letting her exert the pain she was in on him. After it was finally clean enough for Benjamin's liking he used a bit of antibacterial cream that hurt like a branding iron against skin and then wrapped it tightly in gauze and taped it down to hold it in place. Then he turned to the wound in her shoulder.

"Slide your shirt down please." Benjamin asked as he waited to start working on the wound.

"You don't need us anymore right?" Glenn asked worriedly when Daryl was shooting him a dangerous sort of look as the Asian's eyes darted from Fox's bloody shoulder and back to the medic.

"Nope, you can go." Benjamin said dismissively as Fox slowly moved her injured shoulder so she could pull the shirt down and away, exposing a large portion of the skin leading towards her breast which was starting to make Glenn go slack jawed. Dale reflexively pulled him away and zipped the tent up behind them as he did so.

"Well there is good news and bad news." Benjamin said as he began the same process of cleaning out debris with the tweezers and rubbing in copious amounts of iodine. "If this was a little further to the left, the teeth could have potentially snagged your jugular vein or carotid artery and then you would have bled out right then. As it is, the teeth scraped your upper collarbone so I can imagine this hurts like a bitch. The damage to the bone will heal in time but you need to watch it very carefully. If you feel even the slightest bit off physically, you need to tell me so I can start you on a heavy dose of antibiotic. If you get an infection in the bones, it could kill you before you even realized how ill you were. The marrow is where you make fresh blood cells, its not a process you want to be screwing up." He warned. "And this one is deep enough that it'll need stitches, so hold still." He said, practically sitting on Fox's lap to hold her down as she writhed in agony from the continually applied pressure and poking at the injury. Daryl let her abuse his good hand to the point the bones throbbed with discomfort but by the end of the whole thing she looked ready to pass out from the pain. At last Benjamin tied the knots off and cut the thread and released his hold on Fox by moving off of her. The woman tilted her head back and finally released a heavy, shaky breath. Her shoulder was burning badly now, the pain so much that it was damn near enough to make her cry- almost as bad as the initial bite itself. Daryl could see it in her face despite how much she was trying to hide it.

"Benjamin. Get her something for the pain, would ya?" Daryl asked.

Benjamin looked between the two of them carefully. "Alright, let me find something in my tent and then I'll be back to bandage and set your hand." He said before ducking out. He trudged through the snow and the blistering wind towards his little tent that was covered in a huge mound of leaves like everyone else's. He pulled the stake out of the thermal blanket that kept in the heat and ducked in, pulling his bag of tricks towards him, going through all of the pockets and bottles, looking for a painkiller he could spare. He was saving what remained of the heavy stuff for when Lori gave birth, but he still had some mid-line prescriptions that would at least give Fox and Daryl both some relief. He pulled out one of the bottles and then left his tent but on the way back he heard raised voices from the other members of camp. He was trying to edge his way around it back to Rick and Lori's tent but then Dale called his name.

"Yeah?" he asked, his teeth already beginning to chatter from the wind that picked up, carrying snowflakes with it.

"Come over here." He said, waving him to where he was standing with Glenn, Maggie, and Andrea.

"Dale, I'm just saying, as a precaution, maybe we should…" Andrea pressed, her arms folding over her chest and her hip cocking a little to the side in a stand of defiance.

"What's going on?" Benjamin asked, trying to control the chattering in his teeth.

"Andrea thinks that it might be a good idea to…how did you phrase it…sedate Daryl and Fox for a little while in case Shane comes back." Dale's dark eyes were worried as he looked from Andrea to Benjamin and back.

"I'm just saying…if Fox was right…and Shane comes wandering back into camp and she knows about it…she'd flay him alive without even asking for what happened. For all we know, Daryl could have provoked Shane and in the scuffle he went over the cliff and Shane panicked."

"That's no excuse." Maggie growled firmly. "We don't leave our own to die at the bottom of a cliff."

Glenn nodded. "I think there's something wrong with Shane. He's different. He's slowly been becoming something else. He was always a hot head, but nothing like this. I mean you saw the wound on Daryl, you said that was deliberate, right?" he asked with a look towards Benjamin.

The medic shifted uncomfortably. "I said it wasn't an animal bite. It was a clean slice."

"From a knife." Glenn substituted with a nervous glance at Maggie and then at Dale.

"Wasn't Rick supposed to have been back by now anyway? Isn't this his problem, I mean him and Shane are friends right?" Benjamin asked, glancing at each person cautiously.

Nobody really wanted to answer that. Rick hadn't been himself either, not since Sophia had gone missing. He'd barely spoken to anyone, just sinking down into himself and spending long periods of time alone. He'd left camp early in the morning, just barely telling Lori that he was leaving and would be back later before walking away. Dale had disapproved but Rick had been gone before he could say anything to the man.

"Rick will be back." Dale insisted. "He just needed some time to get his head together."

"Meanwhile we have to deal with a couple of psychos." Andrea muttered with a heavy sigh.

"Is it dangerous to sedate them?" Glenn asked, meeting eyes with Benjamin now.

"Fox no, Daryl possibly. I would prefer to wait until his blood levels are normal before trying to suppress his body from functioning; you know what I'm saying? I don't think it would kill him, but it wouldn't be a good thing." Benjamin answered.

"Well then just sedate Fox, she's the main one I worry about anyway. Daryl's crippled at this point, one good leg and one good hand." Andrea said, and it was to her credit that she did look worried, but it wasn't just for him. It was for the increasing precarious situation the group found themselves in.

"Do you really believe she would kill Shane?" Dale asked incredulously.

"You heard her say that she would, Dale! She wasn't even there, she doesn't have any proof that Shane purposefully hurt Daryl." Andrea snapped.

"Andrea…either way, unless Shane died in the same struggle that Daryl was injured in…he left him there for dead. Notice he hasn't come back to camp. He could be fifty miles away by now." Glenn said very softly. "I know you guys are close but…Shane hasn't exactly made the best choices for the group."

Andrea's blue eyes grew very downcast but then hardened with resolve. "Do what you want. I just don't think we should let Shane walk into an ambush until Rick is here and he can help us decide what to do." She turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving the others looking towards Dale.

"What do you wanna do Dale?" Glenn asked quietly, looking to the old man for guidance. Without Rick here and with Daryl the subject of the possibly impending implosion of law and order there was really no one else left to turn to. The old man rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably before readjusting his rifle.

"I'm not siding with Andrea out of nepotism; I agree with her. If Shane comes back into camp and Fox finds out, she could try to kill him, and without a gun, none of us are strong enough or skilled enough to stop her before she could injure us. And if we start shooting, then how long before we end up killing each other off entirely. Sedate her. If Shane and Rick aren't back by nightfall we'll have a bigger problem on our hands." He looked at Benjamin who nodded his acknowledgement and then Dale took his leave, back towards the watchman's post.

"Do you think he's right?" Glenn asked as the wind continued to howl around them.

Benjamin shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "Fox is a dangerous person. She doesn't abide by normal social rules- not because she doesn't know them, because she'd rather do her own thing. Fine. The world's ended and society's gone. Personally I don't really care if Fox has a vendetta against Shane. But Dale is right. If she kills him because he left Daryl for dead…how long do any of us have before we're next? Maybe not from her, but from someone else putting blame on us for pain they've experienced? We either come through this as a group, or we'll all die from it. And we know we can't fight the world out there on our own. We don't want to. Or at least, I certainly don't. So if drugging Fox to the gills to keep her from wrecking havoc is what it takes to maintain order in camp until Rick decides what we should do…fine by me."

Maggie nodded slowly as did Glenn. They all went their separate ways and Benjamin went back to his tent and looked into his bag, fishing out a tiny bottle of clear fluid labeled ketamine. This would knock her out without a problem. He felt a little twinge of guilt as he dug around in his bag until he found a clean needle and tucked it into his pocket. He was abusing the knowledge he had from his medicine training and he knew it. It was for a good reason…but he'd still be lying and tricking who was essentially a patient for ulterior reasons. But he wasn't really going to hurt her, right? He was just going to knock her out for a few hours until her head cleared and by then Rick would be back and he'd decide what to do. He went back to Rick and Lori's tent, sucking in a deep breath before he ducked inside.

"Took you long enough." Daryl growled when he saw him come in.

Benjamin shrugged. "Listen, we should move you two into your own tent cause this stuff will make you groggy and you won't want to move once Rick and Lori turn in for the night." He could hear his accent thickening as it always did when he was nervous. He bit the inside of his cheek to bring himself back to the moment and focused on the task at hand.

Daryl nodded and shifted to look at Fox who was still staring at the ceiling, her eyes screwed up in pain. By now the entire bag of O-neg had drained into his veins and he was feeling ten times better than he had before coming back to camp. His appetite was back and he realized he was hungry enough he could have eaten several raw squirrels but Fox couldn't. There were several slabs of jerky left that he'd stashed in his tent and the thought of food motivated him as he slowly tried to get to his feet, his hip gave a powerful twinge and it took him two tries to stand. He took the bag of saline that was still about half full off the hook and held onto it as he turned to Fox to help her.

"Come on Fox," Benjamin huffed as he helped pull the redhead to her feet. She winced and hissed and tried to jerk out his grip but Daryl reached out to steady her. Benjamin led them towards their tent. Fox crawled inside and disappeared into the dark little cave with a quiet sigh. Daryl followed suit and Benjamin after finding Daryl rifling through a small stash of some of their smoked jerky and one of their last cans of fruit. He split half and gave it to Fox, who shook her head and pushed it back towards him.

"You should eat." Benjamin advised. "You need the food to reset your system."

"Can't you just give me some of the IV stuff you've got?" Fox groaned as she shifted carefully, sliding back towards the tent wall, looking longingly at the bag of fluid Daryl had restrung on one of the tent's hooks.

Benjamin shook his head. "If it were really an emergency I would. I know you feel like shit right now but trust me if you eat you'll feel better. Come on. Sooner you eat something the sooner I can hit you up with a painkiller and you can sleep this shitty day off, alright?"

Fox sat up and glared at him. "Fine." She huffed. She took what Daryl offered and chewed through it as quickly as she could despite the nausea churning in her stomach. When she looked up at Daryl and saw that he was looking significantly better it renewed her motivation. Benjamin slipped out and brought them each thermos worth's of the camp's fresh water supply and handed it to them. Fox accepted it gratefully to wash the salty taste of the jerky off her tongue and then leaned back. Benjamin sat on his heels and pulled the vial of ketamine and the needle out of his pocket, drawing up a large dose. There was a twinge in the back of his neck as he drew the medicine up into the syringe. They were trusting him…and he was betraying it.

"What's wrong?" Daryl asked, noticing that he was taking his time.

Benjamin dropped his hands, capping the needle again. He could feel his voice shaking in the confined space, his accent thick and the words almost butchered. "Dale and some of the others are worried that…that Fox might try and hurt Shane if he comes back into camp before Rick does."

Fox's eyes narrowed as she sat up. "So what…what we're you going to do?" she snapped her hand out and batted the vial out of Benjamin's hands, fumbling for it before the medic could get it back and read the label with narrowed eyes. "Vitamin K huh? What were you going to do Benjy, put me to sleep?" she snarled.

"It wasn't like that!" he whined, fear shooting through his spine as Daryl curled his fingers on his buck knife a vicious look in his eyes. "It was just enough to have you sleep for the rest of the day. Hopefully by then Rick will be back and he can make a decision about what to do about Shane." Daryl still looked like he was half a breath away from gutting him open so Benjamin continued, the words bitten to pieces by his shakiness.

"I believe you two about what you said happened! I think Shane is a crazy fuck and I don't personally care if you beat the shit out of him or drive him out of camp or whatever it is you wanna do! All I want is just for the group to not fall apart! Lori is less than a month from giving birth, Rick and Shane can't say three words without throwing punches, Sophia is gone and we haven't had fresh food in weeks because there is nothing left! There are wolves and Walkers closing in on us, shit is hitting the fan! The last thing we need is to turn on each other! Which is why I said something in the first place!" He was practically shouting by this point and so he lowered his voice with a very shaky breath. "But it's Rick's place to deal with Shane. We listen to him as a leader, right? He's the one that makes the hard calls, and he's the one we hold responsible when this happens. Its his job, whether he likes it or not." He paused briefly, judging the reactions from the two of them. Daryl seemed to be calming down, but Fox was still very edgy, like she might flay him alive if he couldn't jump back in time and silently he blessed her injury to give him an advantage. "The ketamine will take the edge off the pain and help you sleep. It won't hurt you." He managed to add.

Fox looked at Daryl who fixed her with what was to Benjamin a wordless look but to Fox it spoke volumes. She turned her gaze back to the medic, green eyes burning brightly.

"Shall I pacify you, Benjamin?" she asked, her tone dangerously low and vicious. "Here's what I'll do. If Shane shows his miserable face in camp before Rick comes back, I won't lay a hand on him. But after Rick is back, and if he does anything less than drive that son of a bitch out of camp, then I will make my move, but not before, understood?"

Benjamin let out a shaky breath. "Fine. Whatever you want." He took the bottle of ketamine back from her and pulled the needle back out of his pocket, redistributing half of the dosage back inside the bottle before withdrawing it again. "Now, you do actually need to rest. So I can give you this?" he asked.

Fox nodded her head and held out her right arm, which Benjamin took and found a vein and pricked her skin, injecting her with the fluid in the needle. When Fox pulled her arm back she let a warm, sleepy smile grace her face as the ketamine began working its way through her system. She leaned back against Daryl's chest who huffed a breath of brief discomfort at the pressure. The medic reached into his pocket and pulled out four pills and tipped them into Daryl's hand. "Two now, two more in a few hours. If you need more come and find me." The hunter nodded and Benjamin made a very quick, grateful exit. As soon as he was gone Fox fluttered her eyes open and Daryl looked down at her.

"What a cool liar you are." He growled. "If I didn't know you better I'd be worried."

Fox snickered. "If Shane shows his face, I'll rip it clean off his skull, even if Rick is there to watch. He's not getting away with this. He's the root of all our problems. As soon as he's gone, life goes back to normal."

Daryl shifted slightly, letting her head sink down to his lab on his un-injured side. "Get some rest. Sophia is still out there, we have to find her." His fingers ran rhythmically through her messy hair. Fox huffed a slight sound of acknowledgement before her eyes closed again and she surrendered the fight for consciousness.


	30. Chapter 30

**_Alright ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again! A bit of a long update for you all so I hope you enjoy it =) Also, I am SOOO happy that all of you have responded so positively to Fox's real name. You have NOOO IDEA how much I agonized it and kept changing it right up until the VERY end. Alright, now, on with the show! _**

**WinterIsComing1015**: _SO this chapter took me through a crazy rollercoaster of emotion. At first I was ready curse you and rue the day I ever read your story, your dumb, wonderful, heart wrenching story that drew me in and made me care only to leave me in a mangled, wolf-torn heap (you bitch!) But then there was the wonderful cave scene where you gave us not one but TWO (count 'em - TWO) gems - the long awaited I love you and Fox's name! Dahlia - how fitting! And then crazy relief when they got back to camp and got tended to by the wonderful Benjy. But wait - how did Fox remain unaffected from the ketamine? As soon as I read "a warmy sleepy smile" I immediately thought "Aw, man, that bitch fakin'." Only to have that confirmed two seconds later...WHERE in the BLUE FUCK is Rick? He better not have killed Shane himself because I want Fox to do it. Or at the very least I want her to beat the red shit out of him. Anyway. Harrumph. I need to go have a Scotch and take to my bed for a nap with my stuffed bunny. This was entirely too much for my gentle heart. MORE PLEASE!_

Mmmm, I was worried that the insane up and downs of Chap 29 would be too much, but it looks like I hit the sweet spot, so yay! Gives me hope for this next chapter, hehehehe. And Fox wasn't unaffected by the ketamine, it just didn't put her down immediately. Daryl's line about her being a cool liar was in reference to what she said about Shane. She'd rip him to pieces regardless if Rick was back to give a consent or not. Where in the blue fuck is Rick? He'll be coming along very, very soon, I can assure you ;) And of course. There is always more ;)

**CenaGrace**: _Excellent chapter, as always. I'm so excited to see what's gonna happen when Shane gets back. I have so many theories in what going to happen next! Is Shane with the other group now? Did Rick find him? Is Shane in trouble with the other group? Will they kill him? Will Fox? (Love her real name) Is lori's pregnancy going to be a turning/bargaining point with Shane? So many questions! I know you can't answer them because hey, spoilers right? Anyways, I look forward to the next chapter!_

Mmmmm, so many awesome questions. You'll be able to have a few answers with this upcoming chapter, but there are always more just around the bend ;)

**mrskaz453**: _I want Fox to beat the shit out of Andrea...LOL How dare Andrea and the others want Dahlia (love it, perfect name and thank you...LOL) & Daryl sedated... Glad that Glen fought for them, but in the end he caved...chicken.. I love that Benny told the truth...and I hope the others pay for trying to get him to do it... Fox & Daryl would be sitting ducks...OMG... update soon, please..._

Mmm, I'm pretty sure the group will keep that dirty little secret to themselves, and Benjy won't say anything because he doesn't want to rock the boat anymore, but he just didn't want to start that slippery slope of abusing the power he has from his medical skills. Yeaaaaaah, not your best call Andrea, since she was the ring leader behind that little plan XD

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _FINALLY! I looooovvveee her name! I wish Fox existed in the show because she is my favorite character (besides Daryl ahaha)! I love the way this story is developing and how bad-ass (excuse my cursing) Fox is! Can't wait for the next chapter, amazing as always!_

Awwwww YAY! Do you know how much I wished Fox was in the show? Not because I think she's the best shit since sliced bread (which you know, if anybody else thinks that, that's awesome, but I don't want to give myself airs) but just because she would be MYYYYY charrie, in a show as BADASS as the Walking Dead. And of course cause Daryl would then have a legit love interest =DDD. Ok, I'm just getting overly excited. Must calm down. Deep breaths. It's not working Lol, oh well. =D

**Icec**: _Great chapter! I was so worried for Daryl and then fox, I wasn't sure if both of them would make it back to camp. Now im worried for Shane's sake, ha ha. I love how your writing their relationship, it seems really genuine_

Thank you for that! I really wanted their relationship to be genuine, not overly done but not neglected and shoved together awkwardly. It was such a hard line to walk, I wrote that scene with them in the cave at least two or three times. At least. If not more. But I'm so glad it seems to be paying off =)

**hayleyjune13**: _Holy hell I knew that she was gonna do that. Hell, I might've even killed Shane myself if he pulled some kinda bullshit like that. Not up in my house,lol!_

Of course she was! She was never gonna let Daryl die out there, not if she had anything to do with it. And Shane…Shane better make himself scarce real quick or he'll meet the sharp end of a large blade in the hands of one mega pissed off redhead… ;)

**FanFicGirl10**: _Oh poor Daryl :( Damn those wolves, good thing Daliah found and rescued him :) I really hope Daliah beat up Shane if he comes back. Aww they said "I Love You" to each other, about time. I love it, Update Soon!_

I know, Daryl wasn't in such a good place for a while there. And yes, FINALLY the three magic words. I had originally intended to put it off even LONGER but when I was writing the scene it felt right, like it was supposed to be there, so I did it, and I'm glad it seems to have worked!

**Kaleiburzz**:_ I live the name you have Fox. It was very pretty... And... Fitting. Good job with that. I was absolutely horrified when it was revealed that Daryl was being mauled by the wolves, and it was totall kickass how animalistic Fox was, crouching over Daryl and baring her teeth. She's awesome. You sure are an accurate writer. Very good at writing the characters and keepin their personality the same. I know this because Dale and Andrea piss me off Here just as much as they do in the show. I seriously wanted to reach through the screen and gauge Andrea's eyes out, and then procede to shove my hand down Dale's throat and rip out his vocal chords. Like, seriously! It was like that whole "Randal" thing from the show. Playing diplomatic, spineless dumbass, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and being just an all around annoying little bitch. So good job there! Thank god SOMEONE was in their right minds (oh look! It's Ben! The character YOU created, because you're a genius!) Like, seriously! I love you characters. Ben is amazing! Of COURSE you shouldn't sedate one of you best and most valuable group members! To deal with a rather large and extremely psychotic problem no less. So yeah. Good job. Update soon, blah blah blah and all that shit. -Kalei_

Hahah, that's awesome, i'm glad everyone was still in character, and as I'm sure I've said countless times, I go through all the clips of the Walking Dead I can get my hands on to check what the charries reactions might be, so I'm glad that Andrea and Dale came off as ringing true to form cause I really wasn't sure there for a while. And yes, Benjy finally found a bit of spine and decided to do what he thought was right rather than bend to the pressure of the group. They're all not really in their right minds…they're falling apart from within, so none of them are bound to be all that logical or level headed. I'm sooo looking forward to riding this crazy train to the very end, and I hope you stick with me till the end!

**Emberka-2012**: _Good that Fox went for Daryl. And actually, she confessed her love for him. It's beautiful._

Of course Fox went for him, she was never gonna let him stay out there if she legitimately believed he was injured. And yes, she finally admitted it. She might not have if she hadn't been so close to losing him, but I'm glad it came off genuine =D

**Unfeigned**: _Oh, her name is beautiful, and the moment was as well. :) She and Daryl needed the seriousness of that moment. Thank you for that. Also, I think I would be eating wolf for dinner, j/s. Is it time for Shane-bag to get his own yet? :D Bring it on!_

They definitely did need that seriousness. Both of them could have died, and they realized that. And yeah, wolfy for dinner…I wonder what that would taste like…hmm…interesting question. And don't worry, Shane will get his own. Very, very soon. ;)

**KatlynIreneGlasse**:_ Yeah! Dahlia is her name! I've been waiting for this moment since I started reading this! Sorry for not reviewing, my Dad just deployed to Afghanistan and for his last couple of days with him we rented a cabin, with no wifi yeah... Ah I've been waiting for her name for forever, my life is now complete, since my life is complete I'm gonna go nap._

It's totally fine, I completely understand, I hope your dad stays safe and comes home soon! I'm glad I could finally reward you with a bit of tantalizing information after such a long wait =)

**KassieIsa**:_ I'm really starting to dislike Benjamin. How can Andrea be so blind? She's so dumb! JESUS! I HAVE SO MANY NEGATIVE FEELINGS TOWARDS HER._

lol, Benjy is definitely one of those characters you can swing either way towards, because on the one hand he's not a bad guy, but he is a coward so sometimes he can make the wrong choices out of fear. And Andrea…yeah…definitely not your proudest moment there. She's trying to protect Shane, but she doesn't know the depths of what he's done or what he's capable of either…

**Scared-Heart**: _soooo, the first half of this chapter made me nearly cry. the second half...well...i really dont think shane will be popping in again until *french accent* philip, blows in. i also dont think that rick will be back in camp any time soon either. oooh, the things that can happen. *sits back with a glare* i shall wait and find out...given i have no choice. also, you let more good fur go to waste! *crosses arms* you're trying to freeze them all!_

Mmm, so many questions, and a few of them will be answered very soon my friend, very soon ;)

* * *

It was time. He'd thought about it for too long as it was. He'd gone over and over and over it in his mind, tearing apart every question, every outcome, every wish, every hope, every single factor that he could possibly think of, and then he'd done it again and again. At this point his head hurt so much and he was so sick of rolling it in his mind the barrel of the python was looking real friendly to alleviate his headache. He still didn't really want to do this, but he had to. He had no choice. He had to protect the group. He had to protect his wife, his son, and the people who had put their lives in his hands. He hadn't asked for it, but they deserved a leader who could do what was necessary. Shane wasn't the man he had been before. Somewhere along the way the end of the world had twisted him into something he could no longer recognize or call friend. It killed him to know that, but it was the brutal truth. Somewhere between the fire bombs in Atlanta and all of the grisly horror they'd seen so far in their fight just to make it this long, Shane had died too. It had been past midnight when Rick finally realized that, and so he spent the rest of the night grieving who his best friend had been. Hell, he'd even cried. Cried for who Shane had been, for his own failure that he couldn't save him, and for the despicable thing he was about to do.

He crept back into camp an hour before dawn. Glenn was on watch and Rick silently huffed a breath of disappointment. Glenn should never take second watch, he couldn't stay awake to save his life. Whoever had assigned shifts must not have been paying close attention. In this case though, it worked to Rick's advantage. He stole into camp, moving silently through the freshly fallen snow, creeping towards one tent in particular, and when he reached it, he very cautiously removed the stake that held the thermal blanket door down and pulled on the zipper.

"Rick." A husky voice growled.

"How'd you know?" he asked softly as he finished pulling the zipper down.

Green eyes rose to meet his as Fox carefully slid herself out of sleeping bags she and Daryl had been using. It was then that he saw her shoulder was heavily bandaged as well as the bag of IV fluid hanging up over Daryl's head.

"What happened?" he hissed quietly.

"I'll meet you outside." She whispered before shooing him away. Daryl shifted in his sleeping bag and Fox was leaning over him to whisper in his ear as Rick withdrew. He kept to the shadow cast by their tent, one eye trailing towards Glenn every so often to see if the kid would wake up and sound the alarm. So far nothing, and within two minutes Fox was emerging from the leaf-covered tent after staking down the door.

"Come on. Not here." She said with a slight tilt towards Glenn. Rick nodded and noticed that she had her knives belted onto her hips. They followed the shore of the lake to the tree line and once they were under its shadowy protection she stopped and stared straight at him.

"Shane tried to kill Daryl. Just like I thought." Fox growled. "He cut him with his own knife and shoved him down a hundred foot cliff."

"Is he…?" Rick started.

"He'll live. Broke two fingers in his hand, mild concussion, messed up his hip. Was almost eaten by wolves, which is how I got this." She pulled the sleeve of her jacket up briefly and opened up the bandage that Benjamin had taped there, revealing the jagged bite wounds.

"Are you ok?" Rick asked as she re-taped the gauze and jerked her sleeve down.

"The one to my shoulder is worse, but I'll be fine. But you didn't come to me for that." She said, her green eyes narrowing to a calculated gaze. A viciously calculating gaze.

Rick shook his head. "No. I didn't. I came to you for another reason."

"Shane." She grated the name like it was a rock between her teeth but then she tilted her head at him, a ruthless expression sliding across her face. "Can't kill him on your own can you?"

Rick's eyes hardened. "Don't start, Fox. What we do tonight, we do because we must. Not for power."

Her lips twitched into an evil smirk. "Have it your way, Rick. I'll be your accomplice. And if the group finds out, I'll take credit. I have nothing to lose."

"Daryl knows?" he asked.

"Everybody in camp knows." She hissed. "Have I ever been subtle about anything, Rick? Shane stabbed Daryl and left him for dead. Do you honestly think I was ever going to let him walk away from that? I don't care what they think of me. They all agree, Shane's dangerous and he has to be dealt with. If it comes to bloodshed…well…he cut the vein, now he has to drink from it." Her fingers curled on her kukri knife, and as much as her metaphor sickened him, Rick knew he had the right person at his side.

They discussed their plan on the way there, hammering out the details. It wasn't complicated and Fox's heart beat fast at the thought of what was to come. She had never taken a living human's life, and while she wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea to be labeled as a murderer, she had her reasons and she wasn't going to pussyfoot now. Shane had tried to kill Daryl and he was a threat to the group. She wasn't going to let that exist to put what she cared for in danger anymore and it seemed Rick was of the same mind. She commended him for the strength, and depth of deceit, it took for him to do this. It showed what he was willing to do for the group, and for his own family. Shane had relentlessly hounded him about how Rick couldn't fight for Lori and for Carl, how he was too weak to do what was necessary to keep them safe. That he was too afraid to face the Walkers so now they were turning into icicles in the mountains to try and keep them at bay, that he was too afraid to try and take a place like Fort Bennet as a base of operations and shelter. Well now Rick was manning up and Shane would be the start. Fox couldn't help but deliciously teethe over that irony.

"You know where he is?" Fox asked softly as they approached their spot. It was a little glade with the river at their back and while it was open and exposed, they had their plan worked through down to the letter. All they needed now was their guest of honor.

Rick nodded. "I found him last night. He wasn't far from camp, and if I know Shane, as soon as he saw you and Daryl come back he beat a retreat. He's been trying to get his story straight. Even bloodied himself up to make it look good. I don't think he expected Daryl to make it out alive."

Fox shook her head. "He didn't. He shouldn't have. Wouldn't have, if I hadn't gone for him." She raised her head and her jaw was set as she stared straight into Rick's eyes. The subtext to that was clear. If she hadn't of defied Rick, Daryl would be dead, and that blood would have been on his hands.

"I can only spill so much blood to pay for my sins." He said very softly.

Fox approached him slowly, letting go of her knife's handle and put one hand on Rick's shoulder. She could see the pain wracking the man, because despite what he was doing was for the best, was the only thing he could do, it killed him. Shane had been his friend, had saved his life, had saved Lori and Carl's life, and in some ways it was an admittance of defeat. He couldn't save his best friend and now it was up to him to end it.

"Let your conscious be clear. When this is over, you will have paid your debt to me and to Daryl. There's a difference between you and I, Rick. We spill the same blood, but your hands are clean. Let this be a mercy killing. It's what it is. But Shane means something different to you than he does to me." Her voice had lost its curl of vengeance and now was clear and honest as a pane of shattered glass.

"You scare me, Fox." He admitted quietly. "You're just as dangerous as he is."

She blinked once and nodded. "I know. But you have earned my loyalty Rick. I will fight for you. I have my vices, I don't make any claim that I do this for the same reason you do. Shane tried to kill Daryl, and I will have his life in retribution. If the world had been the way it was, perhaps it would be different. But the world didn't work out that way. In some ways, I think the world worked out in my favor."

"Do you think if you hadn't lost everything you'd still be the same?" he asked softly. He had to know. He had to know if what she had lost had made her into a ruthless killer. If he could somehow blame it on something other than what might have been twisting down in the pit of her soul.

She shook her head. "Before the world ended and took everything I loved, I was different. I was always a fighter, but I had no desire for bloodshed. The world is different now, Rick. There is no law and order, only the laws of claw and fang. There is an animal in all of us. If you embrace it, you'll find yourself in a much stronger place than you were before. It does not make you a monster. It gives you the strength to defend what makes you human. That's how I sleep at night. Daryl is a good man with honor, he has not lost sight of what makes him human and he sleeps soundly next to me. It is enough, Rick."

Rick nodded slowly, very slowly, beginning to absorb what she had said. It was too much to process right in this moment, but it would linger with him, and he would dig into it deeper later. Right now he had to focus. Even though he had the plan, and the help to back him up, Shane was no one to trifle with or to underestimate. "Be ready." He said firmly and Fox nodded, slipping back into her position while he prowled back into the trees.

It didn't take him long to back track to Shane's little hiding place, a thick copse of trees not far from the shore of the lake where he could keep watch on the comings and goings without being seen as long as he kept still. Rick back tracked until he was coming towards Shane head on from the direction of camp. He had to play this right. If he didn't, he was risking his life. This was still a risk in and of itself, but as long as he kept his head, it would go according to plan.

"Come out, Shane." Rick called softly right on the edge of the man's little personal camp. He could smell the smoldering remains of a fire, the hint of smoke fresh on the icy air.

"I knew you'd come." Shane said, his southern drawl even thicker thanks to his mangled jaw. He showed himself, refusing to step out from under the bows of the trees to meet Rick.

"How'd you get that?" Rick asked, nodding towards the man's face, which was swollen, dried blood streaking from his nose, cheek, and lips, his jaw now crooked and offset. He looked pretty well busted up. His right hand was twisted in an odd way as well as he held it to his chest to keep it from moving as much.

"Daryl." Shane growled, dark eyes flashing menacingly. "Daryl and I had a _disagreement_ while we were out looking for Sophia."

Rick's heart hammered hard in his chest. Now came the bluffing. It didn't even have to be all that credible, it just had to be credible to Shane. It just had to be what he wanted to hear. He tilted his head and slowly stepped around Shane, beckoning him to follow, letting Shane stay at his back. It was risky, but it was what Shane would expect from him. As far as Shane was concerned, he was still snowed into believing anything he had to say.

"About what?" Rick asked calmly as he led him deeper into the trees. Shane kept pace but always stayed at Rick's back, never moving forward to be at his side. Rick could practically taste the blood slicked tension on the icy air and although his skin was cold his insides writhed like molten metal. He didn't want to do this. He didn't. He didn't want to kill his friend, he couldn't, he wasn't a monster…he couldn't…but he had to.

"Daryl thinks Sophia is still alive. We were standing at the edge of a cliff, there was no trail, nothing left to go on, it was getting dark, the snow was starting to come down, and he wanted to keep going, to keep risking our necks for a little girl we both know is dead!" Shane scoffed ruefully. "Seems his underbelly is softer than we thought."

Rick glanced over his shoulder at Shane, judging the man's reaction, which was cool and slick as ice for the moment. "What happened to him?" he asked softly.

"He threw the first punch man. I didn't want to do but I wasn't gonna let him kill me. He would have too, he had his knife in his hand. We were fightin', I didn't mean for it to go so far, but he slipped down the side of the cliff. I saw him roll and when he hit the bottom and didn't move, I was sure he was dead."

Rick chewed over the words very carefully, the days of interrogating suspects in a holding cell coming back to him.

"Why didn't you go back to camp?" he asked. He decided to avoid all of the tantalizing ways to pry Shane's explanation open, starting with if he was sure Daryl was dead, that meant he must have seen him being brought back to camp.

Shane paused for a second and stared at the man. "I needed some time to get my head together. To think about some things. Things that have been bothering me lately."

Rick took another step forward out of instinct. The tension was mounting, like metal coil being pulled in two different directions. It was getting hard to keep moving, hard to even keep breathing, but he knew if he let Shane stop now everything would go to hell. Shane took another step forward and cautiously followed Rick, his eyes sparking with distrust and wariness.

"Like what?" he asked.

Now Shane was bolder. He took another step and another and finally crossed the invisible boundary between the two of them and took the lead. That was alright, Rick could still guide him. They weren't far now, less than five minutes.

"Like how to dig ourselves out of this mess we're in." he growled. His crooked jaw made the words sound like knives on gravel and Rick's spine twitched uncomfortably.

Rick nodded slowly and took another step, following Shane's lead loosely. "It's been a hard winter." He said quietly.

"It ain't just that, Rick." Shane snapped. "Look at us! You and I…hell man…a few days ago even me and you came to blows! Now Sophia's gone, the wolves are circling, there's no food…it's all gone to hell! And you let it! You let it get like this, and don't even get me started on Lori."

Rick's teeth grated against each other. "I've done the best I can! What would you have me do? Stay in the South and have us run from house to house to house being chased by Walkers? The baby is going to be here soon, we can't risk her giving birth in a fire fight! At least she's safe from that here!"

"That's bullshit Rick and you know it! She's suffering here! There's not enough food and it doesn't matter how high we burn the fires, it can't keep the cold out! And you just let her! You just let it go on and on and on, and you say you love her and Carl and yet you just let this happen!" His eyes flamed ruthlessly but Rick took another step and backed him into the glade. Shane was oblivious to the change in location but Rick's heart began to beat against his ribs like a jack hammer pounding concrete.

"What would you have me do, Shane? The group has trusted me, and if you've noticed, nobody's died since we've been here!" he rasped, matching Shane's every footstep with one of his own, the two of them circling like wolves standing off.

"Tell that to Carol!" Shane snarled. "We both know that little girl is dead! Cause it doesn't matter how far we run, there will always be Walkers! They're everywhere, Rick, there's no place to hide from them! But up here, there's the cold, the lack of food, the predators! You made the odds a hundred times worse for anybody who got lost! And it could have just as easily been Carl to be the one separated!"

Rick bared gritted teeth. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I'm not sick about it?" His stomach rolled even as he spoke. How many times had he both cursed and thanked God for sparing Carl, and risking him at the same time.

"Then do something!" Shane yelled. "But you can't, cause you're afraid! You're afraid to fight for what you want, well, I ain't." Shane jerked his holstered gun loose and aimed it straight at Rick's chest, eyes blazing. Rick's heart was between his teeth, pounding through his throat as his eyes snapped from Shane's raised weapon to his face, back and forth, back and forth while stunted breath fogged the air between them.

"So is this your answer then?" Rick asked, his voice barely a choked version of his usual tone. "To shoot me down in cold blood?"

"It ain't cold!" Shane growled. "We both know that baby is mine, Rick. It wasn't your fault what happened with you getting shot right before the world ended, but that's the way it happened, and Lori and Carl, they came to me! And I protected them! I got them out, I kept them safe, nothing ever happened to them while you were gone, and then as soon as you come back, everything goes to hell! Everything you've done since you've been in charge has been a disaster! Lori and Carl…they'll get over you. They have before. They just have to. That baby is mine, and you will have to drag my ass to hell before I let you ruin my child's life too." He pulled the hammer back on the handgun. "You should have stayed dead in King's county, Rick. Now they have to mourn twice."

"So you think if you kill me you'll get the family you always wanted?" Rick growled. "You think that if I'm out of the way you can just take my place? Fuck my wife, and have my children call you daddy, you think that if I'm dead that you can just walk in like nothing ever happened and take my place? That life won't be worth a damn to you Shane! It never will, because it was never yours! Lori chose me! Me! Carl is MY son, and you will NEVER take my place!" His voice spiraled upwards in volume, ice splintering through every single syllable. Oh how badly his hand burned. Burned for the want to reach for his gun, to draw the python and cock the hammer back like he had a thousand times, to let his finger caress the trigger with just enough force to send the bullet flying. It would be over in seconds. His heart roared like a drumbeat inside his skull, the hollow beating sound rattling between his teeth as he struggled to breathe.

"You think so?" Shane hissed. "You really think I can't? Ask Glenn, Dale, Andrea, fuck, even ask Daryl what life in camp was like before you waltzed in and fucked everything up! Whenever Carl needed something he came to me! When Lori was alone and crying I didn't go to her, Rick, she came to me! They both did! Because I can give them what they need! I'll fight for them! I'll fight for them until I'm dead, and they know it! See I can do what it takes! I'm a better man than you are, Rick! I'm who's right for both of them!"

"Go on then!" Rick snarled. "Shoot me in the back, but you'll be killing an unarmed man."

He snapped the leather strap on his holster closed and held his hands out and open at his sides. "Go on, Shane. Go on. Claim what's yours if you're strong enough." He took a pace or two forward, forcing Shane to back up towards a large boulder on the edge of the river's bank.

The two men faced off, both of them sucking down the icy, brittle air into their lungs, steadying their hands even as Shane held his gun straight at Rick. The former sheriff held his ground, neither moving forward nor back, watching Shane's every move.

"Even right now, you won't fight for it?" Shane asked, a trace of contempt coming through his words now. "Even when you have every chance?" He stuffed his gun into the waistband of his pants and held his arms open. "Go on! Take your shot! Do it! Prove you're strong enough!"

"Murder is not my answer, Shane." Rick whispered softly, now looking past Shane. From behind the boulder, a haze of red slowly began appearing, creeping very softly, very slowly, the glinting of a crooked blade blazing like white flame in the flare of rare sunlight that pierced its way through the iron slab of grey above their heads. Shane began to see that Rick was no longer looking directly at him but instead over his shoulder. A thin film of confusion crossed his face and he very slowly turned.

"But it is mine." Fox snarled. She launched herself at Shane who cried out in surprise and excruciating agony as she swung her blade and hacked his face clean open with the biting edge of her kukri knife.

Shane screamed, the sound rattling the brittle forest air as his hand came up to clap against his torn face while he collapsed back into the snow, writhing madly as blood gushed down his face, still struggling for his gun, but Fox wasn't done. She dropped her kukri knife and unsheathed her bowie blade and pounced on Shane's chest, jerking his gun free even before his hand could get around the weapon. She flung it away and used her knees to pin down his shoulders, forcing him back even as he struggled to breathe with the blood cascading down his face and into his mouth.

"I warned you, Shane." She hissed. "I warned you. I warned you that if something happened to him I would be coming. You crossed me one too many times, and now you have reaped the reward. And let it be known I take no shame in what I do today. I spared Rick murdering his friend, and everyone else the guilt of knowing they stood by and did nothing while we either put you to death or drove you out. And I do it gladly to spare them. Because I am strong enough to fight for it. This is the sword you wanted to live by, and now you will die by it."

She rammed her blade in between his ribs, shoving it deep into his flesh, reaching for his heart. She twisted the steel as the blood gushed onto her hands, sputtering from Shane's mouth and throat as his eyes rolled back, silent agony screwing up his face into a marble casting of eternal pain. His chest trembled as he tried to breathe but Fox knew that he couldn't draw his breath. She had sliced his lungs on the way in deliberately, wanting him to be alive for as long as possible. He writhed underneath her, his legs kicking weakly as he continued drowning in his own blood. Blood bubbled from his lips as he choked, his back arching, instinctively trying to roll over so he could clear his mouth and throat, but Fox held him down, feeling the hot rush of scarlet fluid slick her hands and the trembling of Shane's chest as he tried and failed to draw a proper breath. She was groaning right along with him, her nails digging into his flesh, palms against the stab wound almost as if she were trying to stop the bleeding but really just feeling it. Feeling the life blood of another human being pumping out into her palms. She wanted to always remember it, so she could never ever forget what she had done. Not for joy or pleasure or gratification or satisfaction, but to remind her that this was the last resort, this was the last answer, the last choice. The last thing she wanted. She moaned another breath of pain almost in the same moment Shane did, her face screwing up as more and more blood poured over her.

Shane's throat convulsed as his neck arched. His right eye was completely eviscerated from where her blade had bitten in, that side of his face a complete mask of blood, but the other was relatively clean. His remaining eye gazed up wide with fear and his hand struggled in the snow, the blood stained palm coming up to grab Fox by the side of the neck jerking her head down.

"Coming…they're…coming."

It was almost impossible to make out the words. Blood spattered against Fox's cheek and neck as Shane gave out one last desperate gasp for air before his fingers went limp and his hand fell back. His twitching ceased, the heaving struggles of his chest finally subsiding. Fox forced herself to watch as the light died from his remaining eye, head twisted to the side, blood still gushing free from his lifeless body.

Slowly Fox stood up, her entire front covered in blood. It was still warm but its dampness soaking into her clothes combined with the temperature outside was going to chill her soon.

"It's over." She said quietly.

Rick shook his head. "No. No it isn't." he choked out. Fox turned and saw tears slipping down his cheeks as he collapsed into the snow next to his friend. He put both hands on his chest, staining his skin red as he sobbed with heavy groans of pain.

"Damn you, Shane. Damn you. It didn't have to be this way, you selfish bastard. Damn you. You did this. You brought this on yourself." He repeated it over and over and over again, unable to raise his head from where he was staring into Shane's lifeless eye. Fox dropped down to her knees and leaned her shoulder against Rick's for a moment.

"You did what you had to do." She murmured softly.

He turned to her, blood now staining the side of his face. "No. You did what I could not." He rasped.

She paused for a moment, looking down at the mangled, bloody mess of Shane's body, taking in what she had done before turning back to him. "You killed him in your mind. You would have if I had not been here. You hurt as if you held the knife yourself. I once asked Maggie if how you kept us together was by swallowing all of the sin yourself to keep our hands clean. She had no answer for me, but I have mine now."

Rick looked at her with hollow, dead eyes. "I need no saving from my sins. I wanted him dead." He spoke with jagged conviction. It was true. He had wanted Shane dead, if only just to make the torturous tension end.

Fox nodded. "I know. I would not have agreed to do this with you here had you not. But wanting him dead doesn't erase the pain, or who he used to be."

"What would you have done?" The question was soft, almost pleading.

"I would have killed him on my own. Lured him away from camp and killed him, much as I did here. It would have been harder, he might have shot me in the process, so there might be two bodies instead of one, but I would have still made sure he was dead." She was soft as she answered, almost as if she were describing a half remembered dream.

"And what would you have done coming back to camp?" he pressed.

"If you would have allowed me to stay, I would have stayed. If not, Daryl and I would leave."

Immediately Rick looked up into her eyes and then down at the chain around her neck of their shared secret. She took her bloody fingers and twined it into the metal but did not remove it from underneath her shirt.

"All you want for this is to keep it hidden. I can do that on my own. Isn't that what you were counting on when you gave it to me?" she asked softly.

He nodded wordlessly and she blinked once at him. "I do not fear what the others will say. They all know that Shane would have been our demise. They will want time to mourn or come to terms with what we have done. I accept they may never look at me the same way again. That they may never look at you the same way again."

"You're not afraid of what Daryl will say to you?" He asked, not looking at her directly, now staring down at Shane's body that was still bleeding, staining the surrounding snow a deep scarlet color.

She shook her head. "No. Daryl was the first to know that if anything like this happened that I would come for Shane's blood." She curled her fingers into Shane's chest, feeling more of the slowly cooling fluid coat her skin. "I have kept my promise." She whispered softly.

"I don't know what Lori will say." Rick murmured, still staring down at his friend's corpse. "Or Carl." He choked.

Fox leaned her shoulder into his again. "You wanted to keep them safe, right? You have done so. What you've done can be laid at their feet. They will understand in time. And if they don't, they are still safe, and that was all you wanted anyways."

He looked up at her. "Are you real?" he asked. In another time and place maybe it would have been an odd question, but he truly found himself questioning whether she could really be here, saying all these things to soothe his tortured soul and yet none of it was a lie. The honesty was brutal and painful and yet exactly what he needed to get back up to his feet.

She nodded, her lips twitching into a thin smile. "Yes, Rick. I'm real. So are you. So is the pain, so is the blood, so is the cold and the hunger and the stares and the heat from the fire and the warmth of your family's skin and the memory of their laughter. Real too will be the cries of your child when they're born."

"You know the baby's not mine." He rasped.

She shrugged. "Look who is standing to care for them when they're born. Doesn't that make you the father? What you do, not what you are, is what they will say of you when you die, Rick. It's the only thing you can control. The only thing you can change."

She got up to her feet and picked up her knives, cleaning them carefully and then sheathing them in their holsters. She offered her hand to Rick who looked her up and down before accepting her offer and she helped him up.

"Why not who we are?" he asked.

Somehow she managed to smile slightly as the sunlight streamed down, illuminating such a bloody scene, and despite everything Rick felt the smallest tenor of relief humming through him. It was over now. Whatever would happen after would happen. He would have to handle it then. At least this was over. It was over.

"Because no one ever knows who we really are. And once we're dead, we're not around to tell them."

He met her green eyes and not for the first time he felt this same question bubbling up through him. He had asked her before and she had always ignored it but now he had a feeling she would answer today.

"Why Daryl?"

Her green eyes blinked at him long and slow. "You know that's not what you mean." She whispered softly. She approached him carefully, taking him by the hand, both of their skins bloody and calloused from the life they were now forced to live. "Why not you." She answered for him. He didn't speak, he didn't even breathe, he just waited to see what she would do.

"I know you can hardly look at Lori sometimes. I know she betrayed your trust and I know those wounds may never heal. But I am not the answer for you, Rick, not like that. And I know that once we leave here, you will never again admit what you just told me. That's ok. I won't ask you to." She smiled at him again, her eyes gleaming and somehow despite being soaked with blood and grime, she was still beautiful in the way the violence of a storm is beautiful. "Why Daryl? Because he loves the dark part of me just as much as the light. He is not afraid of it. He embraces it in me, and himself. You live within the light, Rick, as you should. What's left of our humanity has to have that, or we will all die in this world. I would poison you, and that would be a horrible fate, and even if Daryl were gone, or had never been here, the ending between you and I would not change. I did what I did today not just for me, but for you too. Shane's blood is on your hands, but I cut the wounds. This is how I contribute to the group. I take the sin even you cannot swallow and let it be on me. If there is judgment waiting for me when I die, so be it. I'm not willing to sacrifice something so desperately needed for a question I cannot answer."

They paused for a moment before she turned back to him. "He said something before the end. He said they're coming. That mean anything to you?"

Rick shook his head. "No. Do you think it actually means something at all?"

Fox shifted her weight carefully. "Maybe. We should be careful. He didn't try and kill Daryl to get him out of the way, Daryl didn't stand between him and anything he wanted, and it certainly wasn't about me. If it means anything, it's a secret he took to his grave."

They were about to walk away when Fox caught motion out of the corner of her eye. She turned slowly, Rick mimicking her, and they watched with sickened horror as Shane slowly starting rolling over, clawing his way towards his knees, mouth slack jawed, blood still dripping from his lips as he drew in a wheezing, wet breath, his one eye filmy and pale with death.

"How is this possible?" Fox whispered as they watched Shane stagger up to his feet. He reached his arms out, growling as much as his torn lungs would allow as he advanced on them, teeth gnashing hungrily.

Rick loosed the python from his holster and cocked the hammer back. He would do this last thing right by his former friend. One clean shot, straight to the head. He raised the weapon as Shane staggered towards them, moving two or three paces when Rick exhaled and kept his eyes open as he squeezed the trigger. The gun cracked like thunder and a piece of Shane's skull blew free as the bullet slammed him straight between the eyes. He collapsed in a pile of bloody limbs, forever silenced.

Fox looked carefully at Rick as he holstered the gun, still wanting an answer. The tension weighed heavy on Rick's head almost like a hand forcing it to bend down. When he finally managed to look up and make eye contact, she was demanding an explanation.

"Not now. Later. When I can tell the whole group at once. It has to do with that." He said, nodding towards the chain around her neck.

Her fingers curled into a fist and her jaw clenched but she nodded. "Very well. Now, will you bury him or let him lie?"

Rick sucked in a deep, heavy breath before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter. That was the other reason he'd chosen this little glade as the kill spot. Out in the open, there was nothing else to burn. He flicked the lighter open, sustaining the flame and tossing it onto Shane's gutted chest. It was slow at first but then faster and faster the flames spread, eating through the cloth, flesh, and blood voraciously.

"We have to go back. We have to find Sophia." He said quietly. He turned and walked away and Fox followed, her skin feeling tight beneath its sticky mask of scarlet death.

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It was somewhere after dawn and before noon when Daryl hauled himself out of his tent, buttoned into the warmest clothes he had, and braved the winter chill. He needed to talk to Carol, he needed to tell her that despite everything that had happened, and everything else going to pieces, he'd seen signs Sophia was alive. That was what he'd been out there risking his neck for in the first place.

He found her by the fire with Lori, staring deep into the flames, eyes almost despondent. When she saw him sit down next her she shifted a little as if surprised, but her face lit up a little.

"How are you doing?" she asked as he stretched his bad leg out to ease some of the pressure on the wound.

"'Bout as good as I look." He said quietly. "I wanted to tell you what I found yesterday but Benjy's painkillers took it out of me." He shifted again in response to his hip beginning to throb. Shane's cut had been deeper than he had first imagined, and almost every move he made he ran the risk of opening the stitches.

She nodded. "It's ok, you needed to rest." But now her eyes were hungry, clambering for anything, even the tiniest scrap of hope.

"Shane and I followed Sophia's trail for a long time. First she was running from the Walkers and then wolves, but after a while the wolves gave up. Someone drove them off." He explained. "Someone has her. After Shane and I got into the fight at the cliff I lost the trail, but as soon as I can walk, I'll go and follow it again."

Carol shivered weakly, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "But you think she's alive?"

He nodded. "I know she is." He told her firmly. "There was no sign of a struggle or blood. Someone has her, and all we have to do is find them and get her back. Whoever they are…they won't be able to say no to us, we won't let them." He spoke with firm conviction, unwavering belief in the truth of his own words. She stared up at him with quiet amazement.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did, Daryl." She whispered, trying to wipe away more of her tears.

He rolled his shoulders. This was something else he wasn't used to. Gratitude. Appreciation. Aside from anyone but Fox, people didn't really extend their thanks to him. He didn't know how to react to it.

"I did what Rick or anybody else would have done." He muttered, trying not to look at her directly because he wasn't sure if his heart could take the repetitive beating against his ribs.

"I know." She said firmly. "You did more for my little girl yesterday than her own daddy ever did in her whole life. You're every bit as good as Rick. Every bit."

Now he looked at her and she held his gaze and something in him jerked in a way he wasn't used to. It reminded him of the way he used to feel as a kid- wanting so badly just to be good enough when he had nothing else to give and he didn't know what else to learn to try and stop the pain. It made him uncomfortable in a way that really made him want to run for his life yet he was rooted to the spot. She leaned over and gently kissed his cheek, the barest trace of her tears touching his skin. He flinched away from her but she didn't let him go too far.

"Please be careful when you're out there, ok?" she asked him, her voice shaking. Her eyes traveled down to his wounded leg and his bandaged hand. "We can't lose you too."

He had no idea what to say. Her needing him…appreciating him and what he'd tried to do…even when he hadn't found Sophia…it was completely foreign to him. Fox had never been like this. Even at her most vulnerable she didn't make him feel like this. And this…it wasn't a bad feeling…but it was so close to the still scarred wounds from days he didn't want to remember. Days he could hear his mother crying, his father shouting, and Merle slamming the back door, leaving him alone with no idea how to help and wishing that he could just make it stop.

"We'll find her. And she's gonna be ok. I promise." He said. He couldn't ignore the way that she smiled a little and wiped the traces of her tears away, and the way it made him feel warm when she stayed with him as the fire continued burning down.

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"Can I have a word?"

Merle usually wasn't one to beat around the bush, but something had changed in Philip since the last time they'd seen Shane. He had not been expecting him to kill the little girl in such cold blood. It didn't sit right with him in the least, but he needed to tread lightly right now. So it made what he was about to do doubly dangerous but he wasn't going to let this go unsaid.

Philip turned to him from where he was cleaning his gun inside his tent. He beckoned him inside to sit down at the small table before returning to his work of carefully cleaning each little segment of his handgun.

"What is it you need?" he asked smoothly.

"I know why it is we're doing what we're doing." Merle started carefully, keeping his remaining hand on the table, letting his other arm rest on his thigh. "We need to get our weapon back from the people who stole it."

Philip nodded. "That's right." He said quietly.

"But I gotta ask. Why the kid?" he questioned.

Philip sighed heavily and set the hollow shell of the gun down. "Yes…that was something I wish I didn't have to do." He said heavily. "But Shane needed a warning…he needed to understand how serious this is, and I don't think he would have otherwise."

"He always was an idiot." Merle agreed, scoffing a little. "But say he doesn't show up tomorrow, what happens then?"

Philip began to reassemble the gun, slowly sliding the bullets into the clip, piecing it all back together until finally he pushed the clip in and loaded a round into the chamber with a definitive snapping sound.

"Then we take what is ours by force. That was always the plan, was it not?" He answered just as calmly as he had when they'd started talking.

Merle nodded slowly. "Yes sir." He answered.

Philip's eyes began to narrow and while inwardly Merle began to have a prickling of apprehension he kept his face smooth and impassive.

"But there is still something amiss." Philip guessed. He set the gun down on the table and leaned back in his chair. He tilted his head, letting his tongue run along the inside of his teeth for a moment before continuing. "Your brother is in the camp we intend to raid."

"You promised that he would be spared." Merle reminded, grating the words on his teeth. "But I've seen the boys moving. They're getting ready to roll like troops on Normandy. So all I wanna know is how do you intend to make sure my brother isn't killed in the crosshairs."

Philip sighed quietly. "Much must be risked in war, and this is a war, is not, lieutenant?" he asked. When Merle nodded, he continued.

"My men have their orders to leave your brother unharmed. But accidents do happen, and I'm sure you'll understand. But would a bullet not be better than eventually being turned? You know its only a matter of time, Merle." He murmured softly. "That's why we have to get our weapon back from them as soon as possible. Its our only chance against the biters."

Merle stood up slowly. "Yes sir." He said with a nod, beginning to make his way towards the door of the tent but when he heard Philip move behind him he turned to face him. Never give someone you didn't trust your back. His father had taught him that, and he'd tried like hell to teach it to Daryl.

"As my lieutenant, I expect you to take an active roll in what happens if Shane doesn't come forward. Those boys need a leader, and I know you can do it. And by doing it well, you can make sure your brother is safe. We'll get our weapon and we'll all go home and this will all be behind us."

"Ever thought about speaking with Rick directly? Seeing what he says about it? Hell, I doubt that dumbass even knows what he has, let alone how valuable it is. He can't do nothing with it. Why wouldn't he hand it over?" He shrugged his shoulders loosely. It was an idea he'd been chewing on for a while but had neglected to say anything, but now with what appeared to be a full scale invasion about to be had, and his brother's life in the crosshairs, it was time he say something. Daryl might have left him for dead, but he was a spoiled little brat who didn't know better. And upon reunion, he'd make it loud and bloody clear that you didn't leave your big brother for dead on a rooftop to burn in the summer sun of Atlanta, otherwise known as hell on earth. But he had to make sure he came through alive first.

"Shane and I spoke alone several times, and from what he described, Rick isn't the kind of man to negotiate. He's more the style to shoot first and ask questions later. Well, two can play that game." Philip's eyes flashed like molten coals and Merle's neck twitched ever so slightly. He knew that look. That was a man out for blood, and he wasn't about to be reasoned out of it.

"Yes sir." Merle said with a slight nod. He left the tent and trudged out into the snow, working his way past the other men in camp, chewing on his tongue the whole time wondering if the next time he saw his brother if he'd be looking at a cold, stiff body that he'd have to put a bullet into before he became a monstrosity.


	31. Chapter 31

**_Alright my wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again! Omg, last night, the new episode of The Walking Dead...just AHHHHH! THE FEELS! SO MANY FEELS! I will not spoil it just in case you haven't seen it, but AHHH! Ok. Better now. Not really. Anyway. *cough* Ahem, if you are interested, I wrote up a little quick one-shot about last night's episode entitled Burn if you want to go check that out, but otherwise, enjoy the show. Oh, fair warning...lots of feels in this Chapter. Just saying. _**

**mrskaz453**: _WOW...just freaking WOW...Fox/Rick working together, going after Shane was awesome... Fox took on what Rick could not and I feel it will cost her... Rick/Fox? WTF, that came out of nowhere, but I'm glad Fox set him straight on that... Daryl is the only one for her and she is the only one for him...Carol? Oh Hell No... Please No... I'm sorry, but I just can't stomach Carol... I had no sympathy for her in the show when it came to Sophia, because she didn't look for her, didn't lift a finger to do anything for her kid, but she spent every second chasing Daryl... I have a feeling Carol is going to be a problem and hope Fox sets her ass straight... to be honest, I didn't really like that interaction... I hope that Daryl sees Carol as a mother figure... Although, a bad mother figure, because I just never saw her do anything for Sophia...Sorry, just not a fan of Carol and hate the idea of Carly so bad it makes me wanna hurl... Love MMB, but her character just sucks...I hope Carol isn't going to be an issue between Fox/Daryl, but I have a bad feeling so please prove me wrong...Shane's death was awesome, perfect, and made me cry...LOL. Anxious for the next update...Will the group turn on Fox for killing Shane? I'm betting Andrea & Dale will have issues and I can see Carol trying to cause a problem now, which I hope Fox will put a stop too...I think Daryl will understand and hope it brings them closer... I hope Daryl doesn't allow anyone, including Carol to cause problems for Fox...What will happen with the governor so close? So many questions, can't wait for the next update... Awesome chapter..._

Mm, the Fox/Rick moments in this chapter…I see them as having a kind of partners in crime bond. It's not the same kind of attachment he has to the other members of the group; he trusts her with the dark parts of himself, the bits he doesn't want the rest of the group to see, and she's ok with that, because she knows deep down he is a good man and he wants what's best for the group. Any affection he has for her is blindly misplaced out of loneliness and confusion from his situation with Lori, and she knows that, and she won't let him ruin any chance of their reconciliation, or let him get in between her and Daryl. As far as Carol is concerned, Daryl definitely sees her as a mother figure. The whole Carol and Sophia situation is a chance for him to repair and heal some of his own internal damage. For Carol, Daryl's concern for Sophia comes as a bit of a shock, and (at least in my story, idk about the show as much) its a chance for her to help him find the answer to the questions from his childhood, why his parents/brother were absent and abusive and that not all people are like that. I'm not a huge fan of the Caryl paring either, because she's just way too much of a mother figure, even in the canon show, at least to me. And Carol definitely won't be an issue between Daryl and Fox, even if she wanted to be, he wouldn't let her, just like Fox wouldn't let Rick become an issue on her end. Hah, I made you cry for Shane's death? Awesome! Yay for emotional responses! And of course Daryl will protect Fox from backlash of the group at all costs- he has more vested interest than almost anyone else except or maybe Rick, after all Shane tried to kill him, but that doesn't mean there won't be a great deal of unrest in camp. And the Governor is coming for them, the deadline he gave for Shane is running up fast, and they're bringing hell with them….

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Wow. Big chapter. Well. Shane got his. I like how you redid the scene in the field at the end of season 2. It held exactly the same emotional gravity as it did in the show. Exactly the same. I love how you sort of seamlessly incorporate these bits from the show - they just sort of sneak up on me but they fit so perfectly. At first, Fox really scared me. I have to say I DID think she was in some sort of frenzied bloodlust and was seconds away from cheering. When I read the bit about her palming his stab wounds I was like "Ah, man, this bitch cray!" But then, almost as though you anticipated our reactions, you provided that wonderful explanation - it's not bloodlust she's going through, she's not fingering his wounds for some sort of sick satisfaction - she's doing it because she never wants to let herself forget what happens when the last resort truly becomes the last resort. And I think it serves two purposes. One, that she has proven even to herself what she is TRULY capable of doing to protect the ones she loves - something that maybe up until this point she didn't TRULY know, not REALLY. She said herself, she'd never killed a human before. And two, that, when push REALLY comes to shove, THIS is what happens. Something awful, something violent, something that might haunt her. So it's a reminder to be careful about situations she puts herself in, people she chooses to bring around herself, decisions she makes, because it could end up in a bloodbath - and does she REALLY want it? As always, I LOVE her interactions with Rick. Well, I love Rick. I know this is horrible but I was SOOOOO hoping she would give him a little pity kiss? Rick is obviously taken with her, they have a very special and unique bond. I know, I know, I'm horrible but I really wanted her to give him a little kiss. It wouldn't have meant anything "like that" to her but it would have been just for him. Gah! Hmm the plot thickens with Merle 'n'nem. Can't wait to see what goes down...and who else you kill off!_

Aye, the way Shane was killed in the show was pretty much perfect, and so I didn't want to deviate too much, and originally I had written it so it was just between Rick and Shane again, but then all of the things with Daryl and Fox happened and I wanted Rick to maintain more of his humanity, less certainty, more questioning, and so he brought Fox along to do the dirty work, and also to help slake her bloodlust. He knows she's had it out for Shane ever since they met and he knows she would cause problems if he cheated her out of it. But her bloodlust is frightening. Its intense in that one split second. Swing the blade, feel the flesh give way, and the blood pours free. It's ultimate power hammered home. Plus, to maul someone in the face…that's intimate, but she gets closer still and palms his stab wounds, like you said, to never forget what she's done. She doesn't want it to ever come to this again, because now she has a taste of responsibility similar to what Rick feels. She's taken life and that changes people, whether it was justified or not, and she doesn't want to ever forget that feeling. Mmm, and her little moment with Rick, perhaps in a different time or place perhaps they might have been together…but as she said, it would be a disaster. Rick's affection is a skewed misperception of what he thinks he wants, what he thinks he needs, and fortunately, Fox knows better. But there bond is special. He trusts her with things he wouldn't even tell Shane when they were close, things he wouldn't tell Lori either. She is a safe haven for his dark side, and someone he can rely on to do the dirty work when necessary without judgement or questions, and he desperately needs that affirmation. Ooooh there will be more people dying, I can promise you that. Its the Walking Dead after all? Where would we be without the body count on the rise? XD

**Emberka-2012**:_ I hope the group will be able to protect themselves. Daryl knows that there are a number strangers and that they took Sofia. It's sad that he believes she is alive. I once again felt bad that her life ended this way. Interestingly, Merle ready sacrifice his brother to serve Philip?_

It is sad, its incredibly tragic, because he believes that she's alive so strongly, he's willing to make that promise to Carol to bring her back safely, but for the moment he has no other reason to believe otherwise. The group is of course in for a shock when they meet with the governor's group, and we'll just have to see how that encounter takes place ;) And as far as Merle is concerned…he's much more interested in making sure he stays alive, and then right after that is concern for his brother. But if his brother was bitten or killed and thus turns into a Walker, Merle knows he'd have to put him down, and he's starting to brace himself for that possibility. He wants to protect Daryl at all costs, but if there is a fire-fight and something happens, he's steeling himself for the fact he'll have to blow his brother's brains out to stop him from becoming a Walker, and even for someone like Merle, that's a tough thing to swallow…

**FanFicGirl10**:_ Yes! Shane is dead :) So happy right now! I think Merle is finally realizing that The Governor is pure evil and will kill Daryl to get what he wants. Maybe Merle will be joining team Rick? I would love that! Update Soon!_

Mmm, Shane is definitely dead. Dead and then dead again. Merle is beginning to realize that the Governor is not to be trusted and that he doesn't really care much one way or the other who lives or who dies as long as he gets his hand on his weapon, so now Merle is having to decide what exactly he can do to protect Daryl, and how far he'll go to accomplish that. Merle's got no interest in dealing with Rick; he's got a good thing going with the Governor, but he does value his little brother's life, and so tough calls are gonna have to get made eventually ;)

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**:_ WHOA...Fox is such a bad ass! I love her character and how she doesn't hide who she is. I love the tension and the not knowing of what is going to happen between Merle's group and Rick's group...I really want to know what "the weapon" is though. Oh and I was absolutely floored by Rick asking Fox "Why Daryl?" I love this story so much. As always, you are such a talented writer and I cannot wait for the next chapter!_

Mm, I'm so glad people aren't freaking out about Fox. I was really concerned that people might start questioning her, whether she's sane or should be with Daryl because she does have some really twisted parts to her, but I decided to write her as brutally honest as I could, because that's who she is, and the world of the Walking Dead is not sunshine and roses. People are twisted and messed up and willing to do things that maybe they wouldn't have in the world that was. Mmm, the two groups are about to collide, and I absolutely can't wait to bring that to you guys! And yes, Rick asking Fox why she's with Daryl, I teased over adding that in or not for a while, but I decided to do so because in that moment Rick has nothing left to hide. He has a bond with Fox that he doesn't have with the rest of the group because she's seen his dark side, what he's capable of, what he's willing to do for their safety. In the show the group is already aware of Rick's dark side, but because they lived without shelter all winter on the road and are only now just starting to maybe have a sense of security from the prison, the impact is different.

**Kaleiburzz**: _YES! Victory at freakin last! And gooood riddance! I just lived how... Vicious Fox was. Is. It's delicious. She makes a marvelous executioner. She, you, have quite a way with words. Fox's speeches were beautiful. You're amazing. "- and I will have his life in retribution." "- and now you have reaped the reward." "This is the sword you wanted to live by, and now you will die by it." This was all, kick ass! She's... Fox is wow. I was speechless. The venom in her, your, words... I like that Shane at least used his last breath to at least try to be useful. I always love those last moments where the dying villain changes. Where he realizes that he is about to die, and kind of... I don't know, tries to repent at the last moment. To apologize. That was lovely. Also, the Fox/Rick thing! Gorgeous! Superb! Holy shit! Again, Fox's speeches. Top notch, man. The "Are you real?" Awesome. And the whole "You know that's not what you mean." That was so beautiful, and I think I love you for it. Fox was so kind and blunt and articulate and understanding. I am eternally in awe of you. This feels like a roller coaster I don't ever want to get off of. Insert all the usual shit -Kalei_

She is good at what she does, no? She has a talent for killing, and she knows this. And you really are too kind, and flatter me so wonderfully, the Muse purrs with approval. Fox used to be a songwriter before the world went to hell, and so she's got a pretty good grasp on words, and she's not afraid to be a little theatrical, especially if it gets her point across. Shane did try… maybe not so much repent…. but at least warn his former companions of what was about to happen, that the Governor is on his way and it ain't gonna be pretty when he shows up. Mmm, Fox and Rick, that's been getting quite a buzz and I LOVE it cause that was what I was hoping for. Watching Rick slowly come apart in the actual show gives me fodder for what this kind of stress might do to him, and I could honestly just see him wondering if Fox was real, literally or if she was just being honest. She was indeed trying to be kind to him, but also firm and without a doubt that she is with Daryl and that her and Rick will never ever happen, not in that sense. She cares for Rick in that she values the way he cares for the group and has a sincere desire to protect them and keep them safe, and she would do quite a lot to make sure that light in him stays in-tact, and a romantic involvement between the two of them would absolutely ruin that. And don't worry, this roller coaster is gonna go for a little while longer, the breaks are gonna have a hard time slowing this one down…

**Emerald Gaze**: _once again shane's misconceptions about people cause trouble though considering philip's personality he'd probably have told merle the same thing. and as for merle's worries philip expects daryl to be dead already at the very least but now that he's in camp and already ok enough to walk a bit he's already a threat and fox'll be there as well. plus they have just a little pre-warning so they could anticipate an attack. as for sophia i'm wondering if they'll ever find out she's dead cuz she's not gonna show up as a zombie later and shane can't tell them so one of philip's group will have to or they'll just go on never knowing !_!_

Indeed. Shane's conceptions of people are limited, because his own view point was very limited as well. And yes, Philip expects Daryl to be dead, but whoa until him if he comes riding in guns blazing and finds out that while injured, our favorite redneck is still good for a fight, not to mention Fox. She's spilt blood once already, she's not afraid to do it again if she has to, and she's definitely not going down without a fight. As far as Sophia is concerned, the group could still find her as a Walker cause the "we're all infected" line is still true (but I have worked out an explanation for it, and that is part of the plot that I'm working on bringing to a head) so you'll just have to wait and see what happens as far as that's concerned. You won't wait long my friend….

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Wow late posting a review, did you see the new episode of the Walking Dead, if you haven't, Oh My God is all I have to say. This chapter was so amazing, you seem to paint a picture in my head! So I was watching the Walking Dead, and every time Daryl came on the screen I was like," Sooo where is Fox" lol. It's late so I gonna go! KATLYN AWAY!_

Of course I saw the new episode! SO MANY FEELS YOU HAVE NO IDEA! I screamed and cried throughout the episode. Gaaaah, ok, get it together girl xD. Awwww, that's so sweet and awesome you say that. As I've said in the past, I would DIEEEEE to have Fox be an actual character on the Walking Dead. Course it will never happen, but a girl can definitely dream…

* * *

The march to camp was slow. Both of them were choosing the words they would say carefully, occasionally speaking with each other. When they finally had something they could agree on, they stepped out from beneath the tree line and headed towards camp. Immediately an alarm was sounded when whoever was on watch picked up their presence. Figures came running towards them, and Rick was almost surprised to see Lori, Andrea, Dale, and Benjamin.

"What happened, is anybody hurt?" The medic quickly asked, noting the blood that was all over Fox. She was literally soaked in it almost head to foot. Rick wasn't as bad, but there was still blood smeared on his hands, arms, neck and parts of his face.

"Nobody's hurt. We have to talk about something, come on." Rick said firmly, beckoning everyone to follow. Fox was relieved to see Daryl already standing by the fire with Carol at his side, but as soon as he saw her emerge from behind Rick's back he limped towards her, his eyes concerned and narrowed. With her eyes only she told him she was fine and that all would be explained soon.

"Dad! Are you ok?" Carl yelped as soon as he saw his father covered in blood coming back into camp. He came running up to hug his father's legs tightly, Lori standing close by. Rick reached down and patted his son on the back, pulling him close for a moment, taking a shaking deep breath in. He didn't know the best way to start this, and it was fortunate for him that he wasn't the only one covered in blood.

"We're ok." Rick assured Carl but also looking up to the rest of the group once the boy had let go of him to stand close to his mother. "We're ok. Nobody got hurt."

"Where is Shane?" Andrea asked softly. Her eyes were hard as slate and Fox knew instinctively that she knew Shane's demise, at least in part. She stepped forward, Daryl watching her every movement.

"Shane is dead. I killed him." She said firmly.

Carl immediately choked on a sob, trying to say something but being unable. Lori's long fingered hands tightened on her son's shoulders, her face twisting up into agony as stinging tears began to slide down her face. Andrea's expression turned to stone, but her hands shook violently. One by one Fox turned to face the other members of the group, the heat of their gazes searing her and yet she had no fear. She welcomed it, wanting to know exactly where she stood. Dale looked horrified, Benjamin grim and nervous, Carol sickened, Glenn and Maggie had expressions mixed with disgust but a very painful form of understanding. And Daryl…Daryl looked at her with something that wasn't approval, he would not be that open in front of the others, but she could feel it burning in him.

"You killed him? Why?" Andrea demanded her voice almost at a yell.

"He tried to kill Daryl!" Fox snarled back. "He tried to kill Rick! How long were we supposed to let this go on before he really did do irrevocable damage to all of us?"

"Rick…is this true?" Dale questioned, staring at the man with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Yes." The man rasped. It was a struggle to speak, because he could feel Lori and Carl's growing revulsion and sorrow, but he had to do this. He had known this was coming. "The first day Sophia went missing, Shane and I went to look for her…we argued…we threw punches…and then he pulled his gun on me." He struggled with the memory, remembering every bitter word, every hateful expression, every ounce of burning rage that had lent him the strength to overpower Shane and hating himself that he couldn't have done it then, just killed him in the heat of the moment and not drag anybody else into it. But there was nothing to be done about it now.

"But you both came back to camp…" Lori whispered, her voice choked.

"We both came back, I thought I had talked Shane down…but I was wrong. I haven't had a chance to ask this question, but I need to know, Daryl, did he say anything, did he give any reasons why he attacked you at the cliff?" Rick's eyes sought the other man's desperately. If anybody was going to back him it would be Daryl, not just because he was on the receiving end of the latest train wreck caused by Shane, but because he'd pegged the man as dangerous right from the off.

"No." Daryl admitted. "He picked a fight with me over not wanting to keep looking for Sophia. He kept saying she was dead, that we were wasting our time. The trail was old but it wasn't gone. We could have kept going. I told him he was a bitch for pissing and moaning all the time and it just escalated. He grabbed my knife and cut me open. I tried to get the upper hand back but then he shoved me over the cliff. I never saw him again after that." The delivery was cold and chipped with flint and Fox met his eyes with affirmation.

"So…where has he been since then? Where did you find him?" Benjamin asked softly.

"He was hiding just outside of camp. My guess is that when he saw Fox come back with Daryl that he was going to sneak off for the vehicles and try to make a run for it somewhere else." Rick said heavily. He stared at the group, a roil of twisted, jagged, piercing things going through him all at once. Pain and anger and frustration and stress and sorrow and guilt, everything just smacking him all at once. "What else would you have me do? He would have destroyed the group if I had let him go on! I had no choice! He would have killed me eventually and led you all into a bloodbath! He was volatile, stubborn, he wouldn't listen to me!"

"And that's an excuse to take his life!?" Dale cried. "You didn't even give us a chance to discuss what to do!"

"What would you have done, Dale?" Rick yelled back. "I did what I did to spare the rest of you the guilt of putting a man down! Shane was my friend, and I asked…"

"You asked Fox to do your dirty work!" Andrea snarled, cutting him off midstream. "Cause you didn't have the balls to do it yourself!" She took a step towards him and Fox maneuvered between them, standing protectively in front of Rick almost the same way she had guarded Daryl against the wolves.

"Andrea, listen to me." Fox growled low in her throat. "I make no qualms about this. Unless one of you would have physically restrained me, I would have killed Shane, in front of all of you, if that's what it came down to. You all know that I'm with Daryl, I have been for a long time now. Shane tried to kill him. I wasn't going to let that go, and I sure as shit wasn't going to wait around for him to try again on anybody else." Her lips curled in a twisted expression as she struggled to repress the ultimate rush of power she'd felt when the blade bite into Shane's face, striking him down, the sweet burning inferno of justice just before the responsibility of what she had done gushed over her hands.

"You let her do this?" Dale asked, the tenors of his voice shaking even as his fingers tightened on the strap to his rifle.

"I asked her to come with me. I wanted to talk to Shane, I wanted to try one last time to back him down and make him see reason. But he wouldn't. He would have killed me but Fox struck first." Rick's hands had unconsciously been clenching and unclenching at his sides. The pressure he was exerting was so much that his bones were beginning to ache.

"Why her?" Glenn questioned softly.

Rick turned to him and for a moment he almost laughed. It was such an odd question to him but he didn't have anything against answering it. "To get it done right, before this happens." He said. He turned to the rest of them and met their gazes with as much gumption as he could muster.

"You may not agree with what I did. I don't care. I killed my best friend for you, to keep all of you safe. Whether you realize that or not…that's your business. But Sophia is still out there and I'm not going to waste anymore time. We're burning through daylight as we speak. Get your weapons and get ready to move out. Work with whoever you want, but get one thing straight. Nobody's stopping you from trying to make it out there on your own. So if you want to go, then go. But if not, then do what it is you need to do." A harsh growl curled into the end of his words and he stalked away, leaving Fox standing in a metaphorical arena of frightened, disgusted eyes. All except for one set. But more than one remained behind even as most of the group broke up. Dale and Daryl remained close to Fox as the others moved about camp.

"What now, Dale?" Fox asked almost sarcastically. "What do you have to say about this now?"

"I have to say it looks like you butchered someone. I asked you to watch Rick's back and protect him, not dismember another man." His expression was somewhere between frightened and sickened.

"I did exactly what you asked." Fox said with a shrug. "Shane would have killed Rick. I intervened. So God granted me a favor and threw me a justifiable homicide charge instead of first degree murder." She turned and fixed the old man with a steely glare. Dale swallowed hard but he didn't back down.

"I think we're all having a hard time dealing with this. Not because of what you did…but because we don't want to believe that it was necessary." He said very quietly. "I…I wish there could have been a way around it, some kind of process, instead of just…slaughter."

"There was no room for process with a man like Shane." Fox said heavily. "But if you can believe it, I'll tell you this. His blood is not a trophy. It's a reminder. Of what I've done, of what can happen, of what this world can do. I want the group to pull together, not fragment, but I am not sorry for what I've done. If I had the chance to change it, the end would be the same."

Dale slowly looked at her with some kind of twisted, painful expression full of sorrow and regret. "We are broken." He whispered before retreating away, his head hanging low.

Now Fox turned to Daryl and she waited for him to make the move. She realized she probably did look like a monster, that he might need time to adjust to what had actually just happened. She'd just killed a man, and had walked back to camp covered in his blood. It wasn't something anybody was used to seeing, even a man like Daryl.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

She stared down at her hands which were as red as her hair and sticky with the blood dried there. "Yes." She answered when she looked up. "I kept my word."

He approached her slowly as he would a spooked animal. He reached for her hand but she pulled back before he could touch her skin. "Don't. Don't bloody yourself up for something I did."

"You did this for me." He murmured. He wanted so badly to feel her underneath his hands, to know she was stable and that she really was ok. Sure she could say she was, but he knew her underneath her biting words and razor sharp gaze. He knew there was still a wounded animal under there that had been kicked hard and was liable to lash out if nudged the wrong way.

She looked up at him and met his gaze firmly. "I did this to keep you safe. To keep all of us safe. But I'd be a liar if I didn't say that I'm glad he's dead, that I wanted justice and revenge."

He tilted his head as he looked at her, trying to find the right words. "Will you do this again?"

She shifted her weight carefully on her feet. "I will do what I must to defend what is mine. I claim you and I claim the group, as mangled and wretched as it is. You said someone has Sophia? If we meet face to face, I will do what I must to bring her back safe. I can't help that there is a part of me that is glad when I can take care of myself and those I love, even down to this last resort."

He realized she was still tense and that she had asked him not to touch her but he was drawn forward regardless. He pulled her close and let the top of her head brush the hollow of his throat while his arms slid around and pulled her tight against him. She smelled like blood and death and ice and pain and he wanted nothing more than to strip it from her skin until she smelt like the woods and spice again, but he still didn't let her go.

"As will I." he murmured, a barely spoken promise against her hair. He would have been content to stay there with her for a while longer but she pulled away and looked up at him.

"I'm going with Rick to help look for Sophia. You need to stay here and let your leg heal." She said more firmly now that she knew he was about to be obstinate.

"Hell no, I'm going with you. I damn near died looking for this little girl, I ain't about to let someone else finish the job." He argued, looking down at her incredulously.

"Daryl, you can barely walk. Just let your leg heal. You won't do a service to anybody if I have to drag you back here again." She insisted. "I'll be ok. And Rick shouldn't be left alone right now."

He looked over her shoulder where Rick was doing a double check of his python and another handgun that was holstered to his leg. The man was moving with the stiffly with barely suppressed energy that was just looking for a fight. Daryl's fingers curled around Fox's hand briefly, drawing her gaze back to him.

"Be safe." He murmured. She nodded and he tipped his head down to kiss her gently but she pulled back.

"Not while I'm like this." She breathed against him. He nodded his head in understanding but was still reluctant to let her hand slip out from his. "I'll be back later."

He nodded and watched her walk away after scooping up the last piece of jerky, tearing into it with voracious teeth as she walked back towards Rick. They headed back off into the trees, silent at first while she finished eating, and even afterwards they had no words between them. Normally Rick liked to at least make small talk, but today there was nothing he could say. She knew he was still reeling from Shane's death and the group's reaction, but honestly that had gone over much better than she anticipated. She truly had thought at least Andrea might pull a gun on her, but Fox wondered if the blonde had known Shane was dangerous. True she might have been sleeping with him on and off, but that didn't make her blind.

"Rick?" Fox asked softly. At first he didn't seem to have heard her, but then he turned to face her, the blood on his face now dried but still a bright scarlet red.

"Why did you let me stay? All those months ago, when you had a choice to force me out or let me stay, why did you let me stay? Nobody else wanted me except for Daryl, and even he wasn't so much apart of the group then as he is now. So why?"

Rick swallowed hard, trying to think back to that time. It had been warm then, his wife's belly had been flat, his son hadn't known how to shoot a gun with lethal accuracy, and they'd been on the run after losing so many people in a single night. It felt like years ago, and yet was still what haunted his dreams, amongst so many other nightmares.

"You risked your life for us. You went to bring back medicine for Lori and you chose to stay and fight when the Walkers came. You could have run, nobody would have known or been able to stop you. But you didn't. You stayed and fought for us. It would have been wrong to force you out after that." His voice was stiff as if he almost couldn't believe he could still speak, but she heard the truth and the sincerity in his words. She managed to smile for him and they pressed on, hunting down the trail, digging for any signs or traces of Sophia's whereabouts. The search continued well into the day, after a while just blindly combing the terrain, looking for any scrap of information written in the foliage or the snow. It was sometime after noon that the emptiness finally shattered.

They'd crossed the creek just a mile or so back and were headed for a steep slope to climb so they could gain some ground and get a better view of the valley when they heard a snapping sound. Immediately Rick's hand fell onto his python and Fox's fingers tightened on her kukri knife. They spread out, pressing their backs against the trees, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. It could have been anything, a lone deer or wolf, a Walker, or even someone else stalking them through the trees. Rick's heart was hammering in his chest, slowly crawling its way up to beat in his throat making breathing difficult. He sucked in a deep breath anyway to clear his head. Whatever this was, he had bullets and backup. He could handle it. He told himself this and forced his eyes not to watch the way his hands were shaking when his fingers tightened on the handle of his gun.

"Rick." Fox spoke, but her voice was cracked. It was like nothing he had ever heard from her before. It wasn't fear or worry…it was something deeper.

Grief.

He carefully slid out from behind the tree and let his eyes follow Fox's voice. She was standing bold as brass between a few of the trees, staring straight ahead towards the sound of the noise they had heard. There, nosing around in a thicket, scrabbling hands making an awful racket on the frozen air was a small Walker, as evidence by the bluish, ice crusted skin and the wheezing sound coming from the throat. A Walker the size of a child, with a tangled head of short dirty blonde hair, wearing a light blue coat that was torn and stained with blood and filth.

The Walker heard the crunch of snow made by their movements and raised its head. Its cloudy eyes were thick with the rot of death, lips split and bleeding from the harsh winter air and exposure. Rick stared, horror and agony crushing through him as he recognized who had once been Sophia.

"Rick." Fox spoke again, hardly able to breathe.

The man struggled to move. It was as if ice had settled over his limbs too and made even the smallest motion a huge effort. It was like a dream; the edges of his vision grew foggy and he could hear every slam of his aching heart inside his chest as his focus narrowed and sharpened to a clarity so distinct it burned his eyes. He felt numb and torn to shreds at the same time. This couldn't be happening…but there it was…right in front of him…hissing and growling and slowly stumbling towards them.

"Rick!" Fox choked out more insistently. She couldn't do it…it was not her place, it wasn't right. It should be clean, final, a millisecond in time to end the walking manifestation of pain and death right in front of them. The demise of so much they had hoped for.

Mindlessly numb, Rick unsheathed the python but he struggled to lift it and hold it steady. The only thing giving his arm strength was the fact that it had to be done. He couldn't let this go on…Sophia should be allowed to rest, not walk with frostbitten feat and fingers stripped of flesh down to the bone. He pulled the hammer back as Sophia turned towards Fox, offering Rick her profile. He leveled the gun at her temple, unable to turn away and he knew that these images would forever be burned into his memory. They would never go away, just like images of the choking, bleeding mangled corpse of the man he had once called his best friend.

He must have squeezed the trigger but he felt nothing. Not the tightening of the trigger itself, not the kick back of the gun, not the blast in the air from the bullet being fired. But he saw with an eagle's eye the spatter of blood and bone as the bullet raced from the barrel of the gun into Sophia's temple, smashing clean through to the other side. She fell to the snowy ground, blackened blood oozing from the wound as her final twitches completely died.

Fox dropped down to her knees and stroked the girl's hair, her face tightened into a screwed up mixture of pain and grief. Rick blindly holstered the gun and looked down at the grisly scene. He couldn't even begin to think about what he was going to have to do now. Now all he wanted to was to lie down and just never move. Never think, never go back, never face the eyes, the stares, the judgment, the pain, the hurt, the sorrow, the grief that would never ever go away. Shane was right. Why couldn't he have just died in King's county in that hospital? He would have been just another Walker, just another shuffling piece of flesh looking for something to eat. He would feel no pain, he would feel no sorrow, no responsibility, no crushing despair that was destroying him from the inside out. His insides felt dead, decayed, oozing with black rot. The strength in his legs gave out and he hit his knees next to Fox and tried so desperately to crumple up and just die right then. But he couldn't. Because his heart was beating, his lungs were working, and he didn't have the strength to raise the gun to his temple or to speak to ask Fox to just end it.

"We have to bring her back." Fox whispered. Every syllable was cracked but Rick barely noticed the words. It was all he could do just to stay and watch the stillness and the unquestionable truth before him. Sophia was dead…he had failed…they had lost someone else…a child…someone who hadn't even had a chance to live yet. His son's only playmate, one of the only things truly keeping him a child still. He had failed his son, he had failed Carol, he had failed the group, and he had failed Sophia herself. He wasn't worth the trust and responsibility the group gave to him, and here at his knees was the proof.

"Her neck is broken." He didn't know why he said it…it was inconsequential. The only thing that really mattered was she was dead. Dead and it was all his fault and now he didn't know if he could go back and face the group. Today he'd been branded as a murderer, and now it wasn't just Shane's blood on his skin…it was Sophia's too. Is that what they would use to mark his headstone? The blood of all of those he had failed? There was more than enough to write an entire speech in it. Jim, Morales and his son, Amy, Jacqui, Beth, T-dog, Shane, and now Sophia…there was a sea's worth of blood to write the trail of his failures straight to his grave. He supposed the only reason he said it was because he couldn't bare to say anything else.

"Why is this happening?" Fox whispered. There were no bite wounds that she could see on the little girl's body. Her death had been caused by the snapping of her neck. A good clean break. She had died instantly, only to rise again some time later as a stiff, frozen corpse. How was she supposed to explain this to Daryl? How was she supposed to go back to camp and tell him that this had happened? Her mind was racing at all the possibilities that could happen and none of them were comforting.

Rick didn't seem to have heard her, at least not at first. He had his head bowed, almost touching his raised up knees as he struggled to keep from losing his mind. He was already streaked with blood and filth and the temperature was dropping but he couldn't be bothered to care. He couldn't feel anymore. He was numb. Hollow. Carved out and fed to the wolves, the meat of his insides scraped out with a dull knife and cut to bits. There was nothing left to say. Nothing left to do. But he owed Carol her daughter's body. After that, they could decide his fate. If they cast him out, so be it. He would go and find a short rope and a high place to jump and be done with it all. He had killed Shane to keep them safe…and he was no better…he couldn't take it anymore. He was exhausted. He had tried, he had done his best, he had sacrificed everything to try and keep this fragile group of humanity together, and he had still failed. He was better off dead. The pain would end, the guilt would end, the responsibility. There was no hell waiting for him greater than this.

He scooped up Sophia's body, holding her to his chest and turned away from the spatter of blood on the snow. He walked away from the scene, blindly putting one foot in front of the other, every step a stabbing pain and sending more and more fear through him. He couldn't bare to even imagine what the group would say, what they would do. He felt nothing as he marched on, not even the weight of the body in his arms. It was just nothing, just a sea of blurred, badly shaded colors as his vision skewed both outside and in his mind. Breath pulled in tasted like death, breath exhaled tasted like bile and bitter fear. His insides moved like congealed sludge, sickening him with every step. He didn't know where he found the strength to keep moving. It was methodical, almost like a Walker, shoving one foot in front of the other, drawing breath a terrible experience, and every beat of his heart that pumped more blood through his veins was just another beat he wished he could give away to someone who really deserved it.

They walked back to camp without another word, but as soon as the tents came into sight, Fox broke into a run. She had to find Daryl. She had to get to him, to brace him for what had happened. She didn't know how he would take it, and she didn't want to find out that he would shatter without her being there to catch the pieces, no matter how badly she cut herself on the jagged edges in the process.

"Fox! What's wrong?" Daryl called as soon as he saw her flash of red hair running towards him on the snow. He could see Rick about a hundred yards behind her still at the tree line, methodically moving towards them almost like a Walker. Concern pricked him and he struggled up to his feet from where he was still stretched out by the fire, trying to use the heat of the flames to ease the stiffness in his hip and leg.

Fox grabbed him by the hand and pulled him the rest of the way up and he saw immediately in her face something terrible had happened. He had never seen her like this except for one moment, the moment she had told him about the death of her friends in Atlanta. She was crushed, broken, something had torn inside and it was written all over her.

"Daryl." She whispered, tears pooling at the edges of her eyes. "Daryl stay with me, hang on, ok? Please."

His eyes narrowed as her fingers squeezed his so tightly it hurt. He looked past her and saw Rick coming closer, holding something in his arms. Daryl limped forward, moving to meet the man as other members of camp were drawn out, including Carol. The other search teams had already come back, having seen the setting sun and the signs of more snow in the clouds. Rick and Fox had been the last back.

Carol looked at Daryl briefly as Rick continued coming closer. When the man had no explanation for her, she turned back towards Rick and then as he came into better focus she ran forward, kicking up snow wildly as she struggled to reach him as fast as she could. Her anguished scream kicked Fox straight in the throat and she watched as Daryl's eyes went wide and his chest seize with shock when he realized what had happened.

Rick had collapsed into the snow, Carol right along with him. Even at this distance they could hear her wails of despair and Daryl knew now what had happened. Blindly he staggered forward, desperate to see, to know if it was really real, if it was true, if everything he had worked so hard for had been taken away. By the time he had reached Rick and Carol the man had let go of the girl's body and Carol was draped over her daughter's icy form, sobbing hysterically, her entire body shaking with violent spasms.

"Daryl." Fox whispered, still holding tight to his hand, but at her word, he jerked free of her. His hand shot down and grabbed Rick by the shoulder and hauled him to his feet.

"How!" he insisted, not a question, not a statement, a pure and ruthless demand that he answer.

"Broken neck." Rick choked. "Days ago at least."

Daryl let him go, his momentary anger at the man subsiding as the reality of the situation struck him with the force of a freight train. He stumbled away just as the other members of camp caught up to them. Lori dropped down next to Carol, putting her arms around the woman's shoulders as much as she could while Carol continued crying hysterically, whimpering her daughter's name over and over again. Carl was on his knees next to his father, not looking at the man, just staring at the tragedy at his feet with a wordless expression of pain and deep, deep sorrow. Silent tears streamed down his face as Carol's sobs continued.

Daryl turned away, crystals of ice forcing their way through his veins, tearing at him from the inside out, ripping through all of the physical pain and burning with white-hot rage. He stormed away, chest heaving for air as if he was drowning and he can't get enough oxygen. He heard someone calling his name but he can't tell who it is and he can't be bothered to care. He has to get away. He has to go, to somehow find a way to scrub the image that he's just seen out of his eyes. Except he knows it will never go away. The explosion of guilt in his chest is like dynamite setting off a chain reaction to other sticks of TNT. He struggles to breathe, completely unfeeling of the pain that he's causing himself as he pushes his leg past what it should go.

"Daryl!" Fox screamed as he continues walking away. She can see how badly he's limping and how he is moving with unrelenting speed towards the trees. It's almost as if she's frozen, rooted to the spot, unable to think or feel or move until she sees a trail of blood moving behind Daryl. He must have torn the stitches in his leg; he's almost at a run he's moving so fast.

"Daryl, stop!" Fox yells as she breaks into a run and catches up to him. She snags him by the arm but he flings his other arm out and clocks her with the side of his forearm in the shoulder to shake her off. She is undeterred and grabs him again by the wrist, jerking on his arm, causing him to stumble, pain written all over his features as more blood pools at his feet in the snow.

"Let. Me. Go." He growls. There is no softness, no mercy, no kindness in his voice. Just gravel and anger and unyielding authority. She has never heard him speak like this to her and she would be a liar if she said it didn't frighten her.

"No." she breathes. She is shaking with fear; fear for him, what he might do, what could happen if she lets go, fear of what he might think of her no matter what choice she makes, fear that he may snap and never be the man he was after this. She can't control it and she can't help herself. She pulls him tight to her, throwing her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest, shaking almost violently.

"Get away from me!" he yells. He wrestles with her briefly as he tries to get out from under her embrace as she continues to tighten her grip on him. Finally he gets his fingers around her wrists and with a forced movement he shoves her off, so hard that she collapses back into the snow. He storms off again, completely heedless to the pain and the blood running down his leg, coloring the snow scarlet in his wake. He feels a momentary twinge of guilt that he pushed her, but it's drowned out in the wake of his self-disgust. He can't stand for her to look at him, to touch him, to have anybody anywhere near him. He doesn't even want to be inside his own skin. If he could he'd rip it free of his bones and toss it to the wolves and just bleed out into the ground so he doesn't have to be contained in this prison cell of flesh and skin that he can't stand.

"Daryl!" Fox cried. She slammed her hand into the ground and lurched up to her feet to chase after him when she felt hands grab her from behind her back.

"Let me go!" she yelled, literally kicking and screaming as she fought against whoever had a hold on her.

"Let him walk it off!" She recognized Andrea's voice. "He'll come back!"

"He's injured and out of his God damn mind!" Fox yelled as she fought the blonde woman's hold on her, but Andrea swept her legs out from under her and they both went careening into the snow, Fox face first, and Andrea took the opportunity to sit on her back and hold her wrists down beside her head to force her still.

"He'll come back!" Andrea panted as she continued to hold Fox down, impressed by the younger woman's strength but refusing to let go all the same. "He'll want to bury her!"

There is something definitive in her voice, as if she knows, as if she understands. As if she sees the tragedy through his eyes but without as much pain and Fox remembers that she lost someone dear to her too. It cuts through Fox's resistance and she stills underneath Andrea and the former lawyer slowly eases her grip on the blood covered redhead. There is a resolution in her, a truth that Fox knows is real. He will want to bury Sophia. He will want that closure, that ending, because it's all he's ever wanted in his life. An actual answer instead of murky fogs of questions he can never find resolution for. But the answer today is the answer that could undo everything he'd ever hoped for, and she can't deny she was terrified of who might return to camp in her lover's body.


	32. Chapter 32

**_Well ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers are reviewers, here we are again. The last chapter was a dizzy ride of emotions, and the action ain't letting up any time soon. Hold on tight! _**

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _I hate you I hate you so much, almost making me cry. I just kidding (maybe) I love you ( is that creepy) you are an amazing writer and from what I can tell an awesome person how could I hate you. Anyway sappy time over, poor Daryl (his name is spelled weird huh) he's always the one getting hurt, emotionally and physically (long words ugh) he just needs some fluff in his life, granted if he had fluff he would wish it wasn't there but whatever, I still love the guy. Omg (I hate text talk) last nights episode was amazing if it wasn't late at night when I watched it ( late at night makes it more epic) I would have screeched a screech that would make Velociraptor (probably not how you spell it but dinosaurs are weird) Jesus proud, lol (text speak again) we all wish Fox was on TWD but either way anyway great chapter as per usual. How long do you think this story will be guesstimating? Alright I have Anime to watch, KAT OUT!_

No, its totally not creepy! I love you too! I love all my readers and reviewers, and I totally understand how you can be jerked from one spectrum of emotion to the other (I experience this with the cannon Walking Dead all the time!) Yeaaaaah, Daryl never has it easy, but that's the name of the game in this world. I do think he could use some fluff but sadly, there's not much time for sweetness in the zombie apocalypse. Lol, sounds like you've had some sugar, lol. As to how long will this story be…I have no idea. I NEVER expected it to be this long, but we're definitely on the downhill slide. I'd say we'll be done in less than 10 chapters, but again, I'm not entirely sure…

**Emerald Gaze**: _man, walking dead comes back on and then i get to read a new chapter, this is great and confrontations with the governor are still to come in both! i just have to say that your descriptions are so vivid and informative it really gives to ready the ability to see and get a feel for everything that's going on also i really appreciate that you answer your review so thoroughly i don't think i've ever found another author that does that but back to the story that was a really great way to bring back sofia and i luv how out of order the events of the show go in this and still happen in a completely different way one thing that crossed my mind is that carl really doesn't have anyone to hang out with since beth even died already in this... he has stayed more childlike up till now so this'll be his real turning point then !_!_

When I'm writing, especially highly emotionally charged scenes like these I see them as if they've been filmed. I see the spinning of the camera angles, the lighting, the expressions on my characters faces, and I really try my best to put that all down with words, so I'm always delighted to hear that its working. And of course I try to reply as thoroughly as I can to my reviewers. You all honor me with your acknowledgement and praise and it's only fair I do the same. Plus I love to connect with the people who like my work, it just makes me feel great =) Aye, poor Carl, his last connection to the world that was is gone and now what kind of person he'll turn out to be is really hanging in the balance. I hope to be able to devote enough attention to him as we plunge into the downhill slide towards the finale…

**Kaleiburzz**: _His blood is not a trophy. It's a reminder. Damn. I like that. That's so Fox. Because it is. I like the meaning it had, like with Fox and pressing he hand into Shane's wounds. To remember that it's a last resort. To remember how bad things can get. Also! I absolutely love how animalistic Fox is. I've said this before and I'll probably say it again. But with the possessiveness? Wow! When she says that she CLAIMS him and the group. That's just fucking terrific. It was like that cave scene where she tells Daryl she loves him. How he belongs to her. And how strong she is! It's unbelievable! The cave scene, no matter how much Daryl repeated himself that he doesn't belong to anybody she was completely undeterred. Just like when Daryl saw Sophia. I guarantee all other authors of these OCs for Daryl would've taken the bitch way out and said OC would've stayed down when Daryl hit her and Daryl would've realized the errors of his ways or some shit and been all apologetic and they would've kissed and made up and Daryl probably would've cried. Ugh! Because where's the fun in that?! But nope! You're characters have SPINES and Fox didn't back down because Daryl is HERS and to hell with anything happening to him! I like how you sort of built a bridge for Fox and Andrea at the end there. That was cool. I like it when Andrea is cool. Hopefully with Asshole Shane out of the way she'll sprout a brain. With much desperation, -Kalei_

Fox is definitely more visceral and primal than most people, and she doesn't really care who sees it or who knows it. The world's ended, society and most of its constraints are gone, she's not afraid to walk around covered in the blood of someone she killed, because it means something to her. And she is incredibly possessive. It takes a long time for her to get attached to anyone or anything, but once she is, she would rather die than let them go or let something bad happen to them, and so it is with Daryl and the group. They are hers to protect, to defend, and to love, and though she may never say it with words, she'll show it in her actions. Mmm, she is strong and stubborn and unyielding, and she definitely showed that in the cave with Daryl, and again when Daryl shoved her away so hard that she fell. Most people would take that as something abusive, and perhaps it is, but Fox can see past it, and she's much more comfortable with something physical like that rather than him shutting her out emotionally. And as you've pointed out, Daryl definitely belongs to her, and she won't let go, no matter what he does. And I'm glad Andrea got to have a little bit of redemption, I was happy when that opportunity came up, because honestly I really like Andrea in the show (even though she's made some shitty choices) because she refuses to be a victim and even though she's sometimes blinded by her hopes, she can see reality for what it is, and fight for what she loves. To me at least, she's one of the most real characters in the show.

**hayleyjune13**:_ Oh holy hell, this is effing amazing!_

Yay! I'm glad I continue to deliver the goods!

**FanFicGirl10**: _Ugh Dale, he gets on my nerves but i love him! Good that Daryl was there for Daliah :) Oh no poor Carol and Daryl :( Daryl should not have pushed Fox, he owes her an apology! I like that Andrea understands what Daryl is going through. Daryl come back! Great Chapter, Please Update Soon!_

I really loved Dale in the show, I was so upset when they killed him off, and made Daryl be the executioner no less. I loved his unquestioning honesty and commitment to humanity and preserving as much of the world that was in the group. Of course Daryl is there for her, he'll stand by her until the very end. Daryl shouldn't have pushed Fox…but she understands…she's more comfortable with him pushing her than she would be if he were to shut her out emotionally the way Rick did with Lori in the show. She doesn't mind rolling and scrapping and physically hurting, because she knows he loves her, and she loves him. And I did want to give Andrea a little bit of screen time in this ep, and she does understand in some ways where Daryl is coming from, because they both wanted to protect someone from harm, and they both feel like they failed in that. Daryl'll be back, but it'll take some doing…

**Emberka-2012**: _Of course Daryl return. He just need to understand what happened and how to respond to it. He believed that he would find the girl alive. They noticed the neck is broken. Maybe now it's time to ask the question - who and why?_

Of course he will. He won't miss Sophia's burial, and he does need time to process what happened, and to work through the fact that he was so sure she was alive and finding that he was wrong and that he gave false hope to Carol and the whole group. And yes, the group did notice that Sophia's neck was broke, now the questions are gonna start coming and Rick is gonna have to handle it somehow…

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Wow...all the feels...too many feels in this chapter! I read this chapter while listening to "What I've Done" by Linkin Park. I don't know if you're a Parkie. They are one of my favorite bands, but even if you aren't a fan, this song, to me, was SO FITTING for this chapter. It's about self-forgiveness and letting go...of what you've done. One of the lyrics is "I'll face myself/To cross out what I've become/Erase myself/I'm forgiving what I've done". Super fitting. I felt for Rick SO MUCH in this chapter - moreso than any other character including Fox. He really has the weight of the world on his shoulders, doesn't he? Dealing with the loss/justified killing of a man who at one time was his best friend, and then losing all the hope the camp carried in Sophia. That is sincerely too much for any one person to handle. And poor Daryl. I think you summed up nicely what was going on in his mind and heart on the show. Just one question - did you intentionally switch from past tense to present tense in those last couple paragraphs? Just wondering if that was a writer's choice on your part or something unintentional. I really thought Andrea was going to BOMB on Fox when she heard about Shane, but kudos for giving her some restraint AND also for allowing her to put aside her CERTAIN hurt to assist Fox there at the end. I don't give Andrea that much credit on the show (well...maybe this season) but I think it played out nicely here._

I love that song! I'm probably not a Parkie because I really only know their radio hits, but I do really love that song. And its spooky you mention it because I was listening to that song, as well as The Catalyst by LP as I was writing this chapter. I really did want to highlight Rick's struggles in this chapter, because he is the group's leader and he really felt responsible to find Sophia and bring her back safe. He shouldered the heavy, heavy burden of killing Shane to keep the group safe, and he wanted so badly for that to bring closure and some sense of peace to the group, but now that he failed to bring Sophia back, all of that is shattered, all of that assurance and hope is just broken, and he doesn't really know what to do in order to handle it. Mm, poor, poor Daryl. He's hurting so badly, he doesn't even want to acknowledge how much it hurts, because if he did, he might shatter, and therein lies some of the difference between him and Rick. Rick can comprehend exactly how badly he's hurting but Daryl stuffs it away, pretends he doesn't care, or hides it with anger. It was actually unintentional that switch from past to present, I think I got so caught up in everything, really seeing it unreeling in my mind as I was in a frantic rush to get it on the paper that I couldn't keep up, and then when I went to edit I just didn't catch it all. Ahhh, Andrea. She is an anomaly to me even though I really like her character in the show (despite some really stupid choices she's made), and so I wanted to give her some screen time this go around. She was certainly hurt and made incredibly wary of Fox when she learned she'd killed him, but she also understands that Shane was such a danger to them all, and that his behavior could no longer go on without causing major consequences, and so even though killing him wasn't her idea of a great solution, she sees how and why Rick and Fox were driven to that point. She restrained Fox from chasing Daryl because she remembers how it felt when people were pushing her to let go of Amy before she was ready and so in an effort to prove that she is still loyal to the group, she held Fox back without hurting her to give Daryl the space he needed.

**moonquirk**: _Wow I really can't think of more to say. I'm completely shattered_

Aye, indeed, that was the effect I was going for. I wanted this chapter to be that kind of kick in the chest that makes it hard to breathe. And it only gets more intense from here...

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _This chapter is heart-breaking, but you write it so well. I couldn't stop reading and I re-read it to make sure I got everything. I think you nailed the group's reaction to everything and you really captured each of their own individual characters. This story is so amazing, and as always, I can't wait for the next chapter. By the way, AHHH! is right. That episode was so amazing...Sunday needs to come...fast!_

This chapter was heartbreaking to write as well as it was to read when I was doing the editing. I really tried to make it as honest as I could even in the changed up circumstances, so I'm glad that everything rang as true.

**KassieIsa**: _My poor Daryl baby! I didn't know this was gonna get me all emotional (I have tears in my eyes) :P I can't wait for the next chapter!_

I know right! I got all emotional too when I was writing this! I'm glad that I was able to draw some of those same reactions from my readers, it's always assuring cause it usually means I'm doing something right.

* * *

The grave was dug on the far shore of the lake as far away from camp as possible without being out of sight. The frozen ground had been ruthlessly cracked and beaten into submission with stiff shovels. Carol, Rick, Glenn, and Fox had all worked on the same grave, some of them crying on and off, and at other times feeling completely numb. Rick's expression was a blank mask of fog, like he wasn't even really present. When they were satisfied, Carol leaned the shovel into the ground and rested her shaking, weary frame. Now that her hands weren't moving, Fox could see her shoulders trembling and fresh tears spilling down her face. Her heart ached for Carol. No mother should ever have to bury their child. It was the last thing she had of the world that was. Fox couldn't even begin to imagine the pain, the void, the loss, the gaping hole that was ripped open inside her. She remembered a time when Cherie had been very young and had been hit with a bad fever, there was a moment that they didn't know if she'd make it or not, her own mother had been so distraught she couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, could barely speak, and could hardly look at Cherie lying in the hospital without a flood of tears and uncontrollable sobs. And with every look Fox passed to Carol, she didn't know how she would recover from this. How did one recover from the loss of their child? How did you go on after something like that?

They all began to move away from the grave to go back towards camp. There wasn't much ceremony to be done, but Sophia's body was still there, wrapped up in a blanket, being very carefully tended to by Lori and Carl. Rick at first had been against letting Carl see Sophia like this, but he knew that his son needed to have some kind of closure, some kind of resolution, something that might help him let her go. It was as they were walking back that Fox touched Rick on the arm.

"Let me find him. He needs to be here." She said, her voice choked and heavy on the brittle air. Rick nodded but before she could turn away his fingers curled on her wrist to stop her.

"Don't force him. He's injured, but he could still hurt you." He warned.

Fox pulled her wrist out of his grip gently and shook his head. "No. He wouldn't. He's had space to breathe and think. He'll be alright."

Rick let her go and she turned away, stuffing her hands into her pockets to keep them out of the chill and slowly began to follow the blood trail Daryl had left in his rush to get away from camp. She doubted that she'd be able to convince Daryl to ask Benjy to redo the stitches tonight, and she wasn't certain Benjy would even want to be near him after all of this. She'd wrap his leg up tonight and have the medic tend him in the morning. They were worried at camp, Daryl having shoved her off of him and into the snow in his haste to get away, the first sign of aggression they'd seen him give to another member of the group besides Shane, and it was against Fox no less, but she understood. She might have even done the same thing had the positions been reversed.

She followed the smatterings of scarlet that stained the snow into the trees, deeper and deeper until she couldn't see camp over her shoulder anymore, and that was when she heard the steady smacking of a knife hitting a piece of wood. She approached very slowly and found Daryl sitting on a boulder, hacking his buck knife into a frozen log, his damaged leg stretched out and still bleeding albeit slowly. His hands moved methodically, striking the knife into the log, jerking it free, and then again, over and over.

"Daryl." Fox murmured softly, not wanting to startle him.

"Go." He growled, not raising his head to look at her.

"No." she said, more firmly this time, but her voice was still soft. Now was not the time for anger or stubbornness and she knew that. He was wounded, deeply so, and she knew she would have to do this carefully, and in the moment she wished desperately that she was better with words, that she knew how to maneuver her way through such a painful situation with finesse and softness, but she didn't. But she doubted Daryl would allow anybody else to even get this close, and she wasn't going to let him sabotage this.

He looked up at her, his eyes hard as slate, jaw set, a numb expression of tempered aggravation and anger written on his face. "Go. I don't need you here." His tone pricked something in her.

"Bullshit." She growled, leaning against a nearby tree. She wanted to come closer but she would have to be careful if she did. "You do need me here. You need all of us here. Daryl, we're all grieving. We're all crushed. You don't have to bare this alone."

He smacked his knife against the log again, refusing to look at her, and she took his silence as permission to come closer. She did so, still remaining several feet away, but taking up a perch in the cup provided by another tree's low slung branches. She had a lot more she wanted to say but she could feel the simmering tension radiating out from him like heat waves shimmering on scorching Georgia pavement in the middle of July. He wanted her to leave, but she wouldn't. He needed her now in the worst way and he would never admit it, but that was ok with her. He didn't have to. He didn't have to be open to her either, she didn't need him to be. He would be in his own time. But she wasn't going to let him push her away.

"Someone killed her." He grated. "Her neck was broke. I could tell by the break it wasn't from a fall. Someone twisted her head till the bone snapped. Just like I used to do with the chickens in the back yard." Again the knife struck the wood with a significant amount of force, ice, splinters, and bark flying everywhere both on impact and when he jerked it free.

Fox swallowed hard. "Yes. Someone killed her. We don't know who or why, but that's not what's important now. That will wait until after she's buried."

Now he looked at her but she couldn't see behind his eyes. He did however slide off of his perch and begin to walk back towards camp. Fresh blood spilled down his leg, staining the snow red beneath his feet but if he noticed the pain it didn't slow him down. He barely limped as he shoved is hands into his pockets after sheathing his buck knife. She followed him, careful to stay at his side but further away than she would have normally. She didn't want the distance. She wanted to be close, to tell him it was ok, that he didn't have to feel guilty, that he did everything he could, that it wasn't his fault. But she knew his pain ran even deeper than that. Whether he would ever admit it or not, she knew there was a scared little kid inside him that had been left to die in the woods too, and no one had come looking for him either. And just when he'd had the chance to fix it, it had been ripped away from him. She knew he was torn and bleeding, the old wounds split open again. None of the others in camp knew about that though, and she would keep it to herself.

By the time they arrived, they were already carrying Sophia's body to her grave. Someone had fashioned a cross from two sticks strung together with a bit of rope and placed it at the head of the grave. As they came closer, Fox watched as Rick looked up and met her eyes, trying to meet Daryl's as well, but he wouldn't allow it. He looked back to Fox and it was very clear that although Daryl was here, he was in no shape to speak and that he was far from going back to normal.

Carol slid down into the grave first and then Rick. Dale and Glenn carefully lowered Sophia's body towards them, spilling snow down into the deep brown earth as their shoes scraped the edge of the grave. Carol was sobbing again as she lowered her daughter's body to the ground and once more Fox had to wonder how she was ever going to recover from this. She was careful to look at Daryl only out of the corner of her eye, trying to judge his reaction. For the most part he was expressionless, but she could see a writhing sea of feelings just behind his eyes. She knew it was killing him to be here with so many people. She knew he wanted to be alone, but he would never forgive himself if he missed this. The world had ended, but they had to hang onto whatever they could to remind them they were still human, and funerals were part of that.

Rick climbed out of the grave and after several long moments he helped Carol to do the same. He looked as though he were on the verge of passing out from sheer exhaustion, not physical but mental. His hands were shaking as he clutched them behind his back and then let go, trying to find the words to say.

"I don't have to tell you that the world has ended, but even in the world that was, people died, even children. It's tragic, painful; it is a loss we will never forget. We will not allow ourselves to forget. But we cannot let the deaths of those we love be in vain. We will mourn and we will go on. We will keep fighting, we will not break. We are grieving. We are not broken." Fox noticed that as he spoke Rick's eyes sought Dale's and she realized the two must have spoken while she was gone, he must have voiced his concerns about the group's fragmentation since this morning.

"Sophia was an innocent. She was taken from us by forces we cannot control, but her loss will not break us. Her life will always be a reminder of what is worth dying for. Of how much we still have left to fight for."

Something in Fox twisted hard and even though it hurt, it burned through the crushing pain that had threatened to undo her. She'd done the right thing today. She had killed Shane to keep Rick's humanity in tact and it had been well worth it. This was why Rick was the leader, this was why the people followed him even if he was shaking, even if he wasn't sure. Because of this. Because he could find a way to pull their spirits together, to acknowledge the pain and the loss but refuse to allow them to fall to pieces. He had the words needed for that. And even if he didn't feel it, he could say it with conviction, and he could come to believe it in time. That spotlight in the darkness was worth preserving; it was worth keeping clean.

Rick knelt down to the ground and took a handful of earth in his hands and tossed it into the grave, as did Carol. In the end they all took their handfuls and added it inside, even Daryl. In the end it was not just one or two that stayed behind to finish burying her, everyone stayed, using whatever tools they had to lovingly pack the earth in over Sophia. The sun had set and the moon was slowly rising above them, the silver light making the snow glitter like crushed diamonds on the ground, the frozen surface of the lake glistening with powdery softness. The temperature continued dropping and eventually everyone returned to camp. Rick allowed the fire to be stoked higher and the group pulled in close to share the heat, all except for Daryl. As soon as he limped away from Sophia's grave he went for the tree that they used to keep a lookout during the night. Fox didn't want him to go, but she allowed him to do so. He might not have spoken, but there would be time for words later.

"He's gonna get himself hurt." Benjamin muttered as they all watched the hunter limp away towards the lookout post, crossbow and gun in hand, still trailing blood behind him.

Fox pulled her knees up to her chest and shook her head. "He'll be ok. He can take care of himself."

"He shouldn't be alone." Carol whispered. Her face was tear stained still even as she pulled her gaze from the fire and allowed her eyes to follow him for a long moment before looking back to Fox.

"He needs to process it in his own way. He'll come around." Fox assured. She believed what she said, but the timeframe of the actualization of that statement was a whole different story.

The group stayed close in the night, occasionally talking about who they had been before the world ended, sometimes even daring to speak about Sophia, especially Carl. Rick wrapped his arm around his son and kept him close and as the boy told stories of his friend, Fox could see the unraveling of the grief, and the acceptance of the loss. She knew how he felt, to lose one's age-mates after not having any for so long. That simple closeness in age was indeed a factor in his grief. Now there was no one his age he could relate too. Fox knew, and Rick as well, he was going to have to grow up fast now. Grow up fast or risk being isolated. It wasn't right and it wasn't fair, but it was the world, and Fox could at least be grateful that the group they had put together would be there to support Carl as he struggled to find a new place in the group.

The fire had begun to burn down lower and the chill of the night was creeping closer, but no one seemed ready to turn in for the night, and in the end, it was Glenn who cracked the ice.

"Her neck was broken Rick, but I saw the bullet wound in her head. Was she a Walker when you found her?" His fingers were interlocked with Maggie's who leaned into him as a fresh tear streamed down Carol's face.

Rick shifted uncomfortably, Lori looking at him for answers as well as Carl. He didn't remove his arm away from Carl as he spoke but his voice wasn't exactly steady either.

"Yes. She was. I…I ended it when we found her."

Carol sniffed heavily and Andrea briefly leaned her shoulder against the woman's to steady her as she tried to stem the tears, but then Andrea's eyes sought Rick's.

"If she died of a broken neck, how could she be a Walker? Was she bit and we just didn't see it?"

Rick swallowed hard and Fox looked at him from under a heavy, wanting expression. She had asked about this before with Shane. Shane hadn't been bitten and yet he'd risen from the dead within minutes of being killed. He had said it had to do with the secret she wore around her neck, and that he would explain. She had kept this secret for him all this time and hadn't asked for answers, but now this…this needed to be explained.

"Remember the trip we took to the CDC?" he asked quietly. When he received several nods he ran his fingers over the rough stubble against his cheeks, letting out a long sigh as he searched for the words to say. "I found something there. They had been doing research into the plague before they shut down. They found something…" He would have said more but at that moment there was a sharp whistle on the icy winter air.

Everyone jerked to their feet, Rick loosing the python from his holster and keeping one hand tightly gripped on Carl's shoulder. He whipped around towards the lookout nest where Daryl's warning had come from. Fox unsheathed her kukri knife and Andrea pulled her gun free from the waistband of her pants.

Rick went jogging towards Daryl who in the low mixed light from the moon and the amber glow of the fire they could see was struggling out of the tree. When he reached the ground he winced from the pressure on his leg but he didn't waste time.

"There's a group coming, in the tree line, a bunch of them, they're armed, probably the same shitheads who took Sophia." His voice was borderline murderous and Fox's heart slammed against her chest. They were completely unprepared for a battle now, but Shane's bloody words echoed in her skull.

_Coming…they're coming…_

"How many?" Rick hissed as Daryl loaded a bullet into the chamber of his gun.

"Couple dozen, maybe more, couldn't tell at this distance." Daryl spat back. His blue eyes blazed with battle lust, the pain in his leg completely forgotten as he swung his crossbow over his shoulder.

"Alright, everybody hurry! Get your basics and make for the vehicles! Go, now!" Rick hissed. He took off with Lori and Carl towards their tent and the rest of the group scattered as well, paring off with who they were closest too, streaking in different directions. Fox's blood roared between her ears as she struggled to think as she ran for hers and Daryl's tent, their grab bag of emergency food and water already packed just in case as it had been for months. They'd learned from the experience the plantation being overrun not to be caught unprepared to grab and go. The keys for Daryl's bike were attached to the bag on a little clip but no sooner than Fox had dove in, grabbed it from the corner, and scrambled back out did the first gunshots go off.

Someone screamed in fright but she didn't waste time. She dove to the ground to avoid a pinging shot from a man not more than thirty yards away. The bullet struck off the pole of her tent and ripped through the fabric as she rolled through the snow, coming up on her knees and searching frantically for Daryl. He had dropped as well but there was only a light for slaughter in his eyes. He leveled his gun and fired at the intruders, striking one clean through the skull, shattering bone and spilling blood onto the snow.

"Go! I'll catch up!" Daryl yelled as he ducked behind another of the tents to avoid more gunfire.

"Hell no, have you lost your mind!" Fox snarled. She was almost useless at this long range combat, but she could give them something to hunt. "I'll lead them off, go for the vehicles, guard the others!"

"No!" Rick snarled even as he fired a shot off from his python, the bullet ramming home and striking someone in the chest before he dove behind the same tent that Fox was sheltering behind. "I need you here!" He shoved a gun into her hands, but she let it fall to the snow.

"Get the others out!" she hissed. "Lori, Carl, Carol, get them out!"

She flung herself out from behind their little shelter and straight for the nearest man who was only twenty feet away. He leveled his gun at her at the last second before he could fire she ducked and rammed her shoulders straight into his shins, taking him down. She scrambled to her feet and struck him in the chest with her kukri blade, putting him down, before lurching back up.

The scene was something out of a war movie. Muzzle fire flashed in the darkness, illuminating their attackers with brief pulses of orange light while the group ran like scattered mice in a tank, fleeing every which way as they popped off shots. Andrea was by the shore of the lake, crouched down in the long grass, popping up when she had the opportunity and picking off opponents, but she was backed into a corner. Dale was trying to get to her, taking shots with his rifle but whether the bullets connected was hit or miss. Glenn and Maggie were paired together, ducking and weaving in and around the tents, both of them armed with shotguns. Carol and Lori and Benjamin were huddled by Rick and Lori's tent, the medic doing his best to keep the pregnant woman calm even as Carl ripped free of his mother's grip, gun in hand, racing towards his father.

"Carl! Get down!" Rick yelled, launching himself in the line of fire and throwing his son down to the ground as more bullets sprayed. Rick yelled with pain as one of the balls of lead struck him in his shoulder. He staggered as blood began oozing free of the wound and Carl cried out with fright.

"Daryl! You have to get them out!" Fox panted as she swung her blade and hacked another man's neck open, kicking him free just as she rolled towards Daryl who was still crouched behind one of the tents, sliding out only when he had a shot to pick off another man. But they just kept coming, more and more, all firing rounds as though they had machine guns, muzzle flashes steady streams of light as they tore the camp to pieces.

"I ain't leaving you behind!" he snarled. He snagged her by the wrist when she tried to throw herself into the fray to start leading a small group of the enemy away.

"I'm the fastest! Andrea and Dale are trapped by the water, we can't leave them there! Rick's down, you have to get them out!" she shrugged out of the bag she'd taken from their tent and forced it into his arms. With a strangled sound of severe frustration he took it from her and strapped it across his body.

"Fox!" Glenn yelled from where he and Maggie were struggling to get towards them. "Fox, we'll go with you!"

Fox whipped around towards her two companions. They took shots with their guns, blasting their way through a narrow line of men and rushing towards Rick where he had fallen out in the open, body badly bleeding. Fox waited for a split second, her heart slamming between her teeth as she timed the motion, throwing herself into the line of fire right at the moment to take advantage of another enemy, hacking his ankles almost in half, dropping him down with a screech of severe pain. She ran towards Rick, Maggie, and Glenn as Daryl gave her cover fire, the sound of bullets flying echoing the thudding of her heart. She helped Glenn and Maggie get Rick to his feet who still wouldn't let go of Carl until the kid ripped free of his father's hand and darted towards Daryl's side to add to their protection.

"Lori! Benjamin, Carol!" Glenn panted. He shouldered Maggie and Fox with Rick's weight before whipping around to use his shotgun to increase the bubble of protection to allow for the other three members to get to them. They all had their grab bags as well and as soon as they made it to Rick's side, Benjamin and Carol took over supporting his weight.

"Get him out of here, we've got to get Andrea and Dale and then we'll meet back with you." Fox panted as she passed Rick to them. They shouldered his weight albeit sloppily, causing Rick to groan with pain. His back was drenched with blood and already Benjamin's eyes were grim underneath the terror of the firefight still raging around them.

"We'll head for my cabin, just like we said, we'll wait for you as long as we can, but if they find us, we're headed North!" the medic panted. Fox nodded fiercely and pushed them towards the trees back towards the highway while she whipped around and grabbed Rick's python which had fallen from his hands when he'd been shot.

"Carl! Go with your father" Fox ordered. She thrust the gun into Carl's hands and then jerked one of her throwing knives free and flung it as hard as she could, striking another enemy in the chest.

"No! He'd want me to protect you!" the boy yelled. He popped off another shot from his small gun but the bullet went wide and the man he'd been aiming for shot again, causing them all to throw themselves to the ground. Maggie rolled up first and fired her shotgun, hitting the man in the pelvis, causing him to scream. Blood gushed into the snow and the world seemed to spin on its axis as Fox struggled to get up to her feet and throw another blade, and instinctively she knew she wouldn't have been fast enough to put her target down before he fired first. But there was another pop of gunfire and she twisted in the snow to see Daryl poised above them, giving them cover fire.

"Carl, get the hell out of here! Go with your dad, we got this!" the hunter ordered. He shot again before reaching down and grabbing Fox and pulling her up to her feet just as Glenn and Maggie were getting up. They swung their guns and fired, trying to keep the troops backed up but they were rapidly losing ground. Daryl maneuvered them to give them cover fire so they could run for the trees. Fox grabbed Daryl once last time, squeezing his fingers tightly, her eyes ablaze even as the shots fired all around them.

"Get them out, keep them safe, I'm coming back!" she promised before she let go and pushed him towards the trees where by now Carol, Lori, Rick, and Benjamin had already reached. Daryl went as fast as his bad leg would allow him to, keeping pace with Carl as the picked off shots and running towards the darkness. Fox swung back around and focused now on Maggie and Glenn who were still firing off shells towards the influx of men.

"Come on! Fan out and give them three targets to chase! Whatever you do, don't stop moving!" Fox advised as they took off running towards the lake where Andrea and Dale were trapped. Her feet flew over the snow as if she had wings, her body shaking with exhilaration and an overdose of adrenaline. With a wild cry she flung another blade and hit a man in the chest. She launched herself at his fallen body and jerked it free just as another came up towards her to shoot or to grab, it didn't matter. She spun almost like a dancer on a stage, her kukri knife out, and she hacked clean through his arm and bit even deeper into his torso. His garbled howl of pain rattled in between her ears but she didn't have time to focus on it. There were still more troops coming and there was a good distance between herself and the shore. Maggie had already reached Andrea and Dale and stood shoulder to shoulder with the blonde, firing as fast as she could pump the shotgun. "Glenn!" the brunette yelled, calling for her lover in the darkness as the muzzle of her gun blasted over and over.

Fox saw Glenn weaving in and out of the horde of troops, his shotgun abandoned having either jammed or run out of shells. He snatched up a handgun from one of the fallen troops and kept shooting even as Fox ran almost parallel to him.

"Come on! We gotta lead them off!" she yowled. He nodded and ran towards her, firing over his shoulder as Fox plunged ahead, swinging her kukri knife as she got close to another enemy. She cried out with crazed panic as she tripped over someone's body and went down face first into the snow just as someone had locked onto her.

"Gotcha now girly!" a man snarled over her head. She didn't look up to see who, she rammed a smaller knife into the man's ankle causing him to scream but he didn't fall. He drove his foot directly into her chest as she was trying to get to her feet. She swore she felt her collarbone crack and pain rocketed through her even as she rolled, swinging her forearm and slamming the man above her in the leg as hard as she could. He toppled over and as his arms flung above him, she caught the sight of a metal contraption on one hand, a knife attached to it. She rolled away from him as fast she could and struggled for her feet when she felt hands on the back of her neck.

"Nah ah, come on, fight me back girl!" the man drawled an evil sounding laugh snickering through every syllable.

"Fuck you!" she snarled. She kicked her leg back and struck him in the shin of his injured leg causing him to howl. He lunged down to stab her in the back but she twisted at the last second. The blade bit into her flesh but only a glancing wound on her upper arm. She twisted around and flung another knife, striking the man in the shoulder and when she whirled to see her adversary she saw a strikingly familiar pair of bright blue eyes staring at her.

"You made a mistake coming here!" she snarled as she danced backwards to avoid the blow from the man's wild flung fist. She was about to strike for him again when she heard Glenn calling for her.

"Fox! Come on!" he yelled. He had managed to maneuver Maggie, Andrea, and Dale back towards the tents and was still laying down as much cover fire as he could, but she knew he had to be running out of ammunition.

"Where is Daryl?" The man yelled over the din of gunfire as he reached to try and grab Fox who swerved out of his way and danced around him, striking him in the face with a smaller throwing knife. Blood bloomed in a shallow gash on the man's face and she realized now who this had to be.

"You'd attack your brother's camp? Piece of shit!" she growled, throwing herself towards Merle heedless of his weaponry. She rammed her shoulder into his chest and took him back to the ground, trying her best to stab him but he managed to guard himself with the metal contraption on his arm. She was forced to lurch back so violently that her back gave an awful throb of pain but otherwise the metal contraption with its knife attached would have cut her throat open.

"Where is Daryl? Where!" Merle shouted as he tried to pounce on Fox but she flung herself out of the way. She scrambled to her feet and snatched the small knife she'd dropped and ran for her life towards Glenn, Maggie, Dale, and Andrea who had made it towards the tents, Maggie and Glenn providing cover fire. Andrea was supporting Dale and as Fox got closer she could see why. The old man was bleeding badly from a wound right in the chest, his face screwed up in pain as he struggled to draw his breath.

"Fox, take it!" Andrea gasped as she maneuvered Dale towards the trees, holding out her handgun that she could barely hang onto let alone use as she supported the old man. Fox's body writhed in revulsion but this was no time to cling to the past. The present was dying right around her. She claimed the group as hers and she had promised she would do what she had to do in order to defend them. She holstered her kukri knife and grabbed Andrea's gun, whipping around and pulling the trigger as she aimed for the nearest enemy. The weapon kicked back into her palm like a blow straight to her skull but she didn't let it shake her, at least not enough to stop her. She fired again, providing as much protection as she could while Glenn, and Maggie sheltered Andrea and Dale as they scrambled for the trees, but just before they made it in, Glenn yowled with pain and staggered.

"Glenn!" Maggie cried seeing him stumble.

"I'm alright, go, go, go!" he panted. Fox saw him clutching his left arm in his right, blood spilling from between his fingers just above his elbow even as the shots continued to ring out into the night.

They made it into the cover of the trees, the moonlight no longer granting them much to see. It was a mass of writhing black shadows and objects in their wake as they staggered and scrambled, heaving Dale over debris as they struggled back up the hill. Fox remembered taking this root so many months ago before there was snow and the leaves were red and gold and they didn't know exactly where they were going, all they knew was just that there was something waiting for them ahead. They still had something waiting for them, and she rallied them as best as she could, darting forward, finding the path of least resistance as they headed for the highway.

"Stop!" Andrea finally panted, all but collapsing into the snow in a heap with Dale as the old man's legs gave out. Fox whirled around as Glenn and Maggie automatically lifted their guns and fanned out just in case their pursuers found them while Fox dropped to her knees beside Andrea and Dale.

"Andrea, just go." The old man panted. "It's ok, just go. Protect the others." He gasped. Blood was still spilling from the wound even as his eyes clenched and rolled with the pain.

"No! I won't leave you here." The blonde woman insisted. Her voice was cracking and her fingers were trembling even as Fox stuffed her gun through her the belt that held her knives to keep it in place as she helped Dale sit up so he could breathe easier.

"Come on, as soon as we get you to Benjy he can patch you up." Fox insisted. She flung her hair out of the way as she frantically searched out Maggie and Glenn.

"Anything?" she panted as she helped Andrea pull Dale to his feet with a groan and pushed him forward.

"Can't tell." Maggie hissed, her southern drawl thick as she struggled to keep her tears of fear and pain back.

"Come on. It's a ways back to the road, we have to hurry." Fox panted. She helped Andrea to maneuver Dale and that helped them keep better time as they clawed their way through the snow and rough woodland terrain, steadily climbing higher and higher until finally she saw a break in the trees. Dale's feet almost gave out but now Maggie took a turn to help support him as Fox plunged ahead to take point on the road. The side of the highway, and their little alcove where they'd hidden their vehicles was silent. They must have lost their pursuers in the trees or they had only been seeking to drive them away from the lake in the first place. Fox didn't have time to process it now, all she knew was that Maggie's car was waiting for them and the little brunette was struggling to get the key out of her grab bag while Glenn and Andrea worked to get Dale into the back seat as Fox kept watch. It was a tight squeeze when everyone piled in, Glenn in the driver's seat, Maggie in the passenger, Dale, Andrea, and Fox in the back. Dale was still bleeding heavily from his chest and struggling to breathe, Andrea cradling his head in her lap as Glenn cranked the car to life. He hauled ass along the road, headlights glaring in the freezing cold air as Maggie worked to get the heat in the car going.

"Glenn, let's not die in a car wreck alright!" Andrea all but shouted as Glenn nearly fishtailed around a tight corner, the back end of the car threatening to slip out from under his control and send them careening down the mountain.

"Sorry!" he panted, his fingers scrambling on the wheel as his foot hit the gas, lurching them forward again.

Fox had memorized this route a long time ago and helped to give Glenn directions to the very narrow, well hidden turn off of the paved street that led to a sloping dirt road, bare naked trees bent over them creating a kind of tunnel of menacing branches as the headlights struggled to penetrate the suffocating darkness. The road twisted and turned and finally leveled out into the small clearing that surrounded Benjamin's cabin, and there right near the front door was the RV, the Jeep, and Daryl's bike. Glenn killed the engine as soon as he rolled up, and they hadn't even all made it out of the car yet when people came running out to meet them.

"Is everyone alright?" Lori called as she came down the steps towards them.

"We need Benjamin right now, Dale's been shot." Andrea panted as she and Fox worked to get the old man out of the car. He wheezed with pain, blood spilling from his lips as he struggled to get in a full breath of air. Glenn wormed his way into support him as Fox's still injured shoulder gave out under Dale's weight just as she looked up and saw Daryl limping down the steps towards them.

"Are you ok?" he demanded when he saw the pain written on her face and the fresh blood spilling down her arm.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, how is Rick?" she panted.

"Benjy pulled a bullet out of his back and strung him up to another bag of blood, he should be fine." His voice was clipped and his eyes were chips of flint but as soon as they tried to get Dale up the stairs Benjamin had emerged to meet them and he and Fox maneuvered out of the way to let him work.

"Stop, lay him down!" the medic ordered. As he was obeyed they stretched Dale out on his back on the ground just shy of the steps of the cabin. The old man was gasping with pain and struggling to breathe even as Benjamin pulled off his outer coat and his shirt to inspect the wound.

"The bullet hit his lungs. It's a shallow hit but it's enough. I can't…" he said, his eyes twisted with grief and pain. "Its beyond what I can do."

Andrea wailed, tears spilling down her face as Dale's hand scrambled madly to clutch hers. He coughed heavily and Benjamin and Daryl helped roll the old man to his side so he could clear his mouth and breathe just a little bit better, but they could still hear the wet, wheezing inhales, and Daryl knew what was happening. The man was drowning in his own blood. Slowly. Very slowly. If he'd made the trip all this way, then Benjamin was right and the hit to his lungs was glancing, but still lethal; just enough to make the dying slow.

"Dale…" Andrea whimpered as she squeezed the old man's hand. "Dale I'm so sorry."

He shook his head with as much force as he could muster. "No, Andrea…don't be." He panted, coughing heavily again. "You meant everything to me. You and Amy. Don't forget her and don't forget yourself…" his body seized painfully and his eyes rolled back.

"Shit, he's arresting." Benjamin panted and he tried to push everyone out of the way to do CPR but at the moment Daryl grabbed the medic's hands and pushed him out of the way. He took his gun out of its holster and cocked the hammer as Dale's eyes flew open. Andrea scrambled back as did Maggie, Glenn, and Benjamin. Andrea's face was streaked with tears.

"Daryl…" she whispered. It caused the man to look up at her and he saw the permission, the acceptance, the need in her eyes. Dale was suffering but she wasn't strong enough.

Daryl knelt down and held the gun to Dale's temple. Fox watched as his face passed through a semblance of grief and exhausted pain as Dale struggled for another breath, his eyes almost sightless but still howling with agony.

"Sorry brother." Daryl murmured before he squeezed the trigger. The blast ripped through all of them as though they were the ones shot, and the stillness in Dale's body was disturbing enough that it made Fox turn away. She leaned against the handrail of the steps, squeezing the wood with brutal force as she tried and failed to take in the fact that someone else had died. Someone else. Someone else who had counted on her, had faith in her to do the right thing…had asked her to keep the group safe… and she had failed. It was a piece of her torn free and thrown to a seething circle of voracious wolves.

Andrea was on her knees next to Dale, running her fingers against his head and squeezing his hand as she rocked back and forth. Maggie and Glenn stood behind her, faces twisted with pain and loss and defeat. Daryl staggered up to his feet and turned away, letting the gun fall to the ground. He walked away towards the road and Fox didn't have the strength to call after him. She knew if she tried to speak now she would go to pieces and she didn't know if she would ever come back from that place if she shattered.

"The shovels are in the back of the RV." Benjamin managed to say. "The ground is soft behind the house."

Andrea sucked in a torn, shaking breath. "We need to tend the living first." She managed to say. Her voice was cracked and there were still tears spilling from her eyes, but she managed to get to her feet. "Glenn and Fox are bleeding. Dale would want us to take care of them first."

Benjamin nodded and approached Glenn first who was receptive to his inspection of the wound in his arm. The bullet had passed clean through the meat and muscle but had left the bone untouched. Benjamin led them all back inside to get out of the cold before tying Glenn's arm with a painfully tight tourniquet before he disinfected and bandaged Glenn's arm.

"If you start losing the feeling in your fingers tell me and I'll loosen it. It's just until the bleeding stops and it starts to clot on its own." The medic said after Glenn finally pulled his arm back and flexed his fingers. He then turned to Fox who had shed her jacket now that they were inside.

"This is deep…you'll need stitches." Benjamin muttered as he led her to the table where the lanterns were strung up, much the same way that they had been when Rick had laid here all those months ago.

"I saw Daryl's brother." She said as Benjamin started cleaning her wound. "One hand, same eyes, same drawl. Asked for Daryl by name."

"You saw Merle?" Andrea gasped. "He was there with those men?"

Fox nodded. Lori and Andrea both came closer as did Glenn who glanced at Maggie worriedly.

"He asked for Daryl? So he knew that this was our camp. How the hell could he have known that?" Glenn demanded. "How the hell could he have known where we were, that it was us…what the fuck!" he cursed, kicking the wall sharply, eliciting a hiss of pain before Maggie laid a hand on his arm to calm him.

"I don't know, but all of you keep your mouths shut about it to Daryl." She grunted with pain as Benjamin started to stitch her arm.

"You're not going to tell him? Do you realize if he finds out…Daryl could go crazy…" Carol whispered softly from where she was watching over Rick's unconscious body. Lori approached her and nodded wordlessly in agreement, her arms crossing over her chest before sinking down into the chair she'd pulled up next to Rick so she could keep vigil over him. Carol looked over at Fox and the two women met eyes. Fox realized that through the ordeal with Sophia the she and Daryl had a kind of fledgling bond, some kind of understanding between them, and she realized Carol worried for him.

"I won't keep it from him. But he doesn't need to know now. He won't go far from here, he physically can't." Fox said with a heavy, heavy sigh. Her body hurt, her head was pounding from the stress, and her flesh was cold deep inside where fire wouldn't reach. Regret and pain washed over her in continuous waves, so much so that she didn't know how she would be able to stand up straight again. Lori pulled Carl close and slowly began to tell him that Dale was dead which caused another round of sobs from the child, choked with the struggle to keep back his tears and yet let it all run loose at the same time.

"You need to bring him back inside." Benjamin murmured quietly when Fox began to pace restlessly by the door.

"Benjy I know that, just give me a second, ok?" She growled. She wasn't in the mood to be patient with him. Her body was aching, her heart was still hammering, and there was still a rough lump in her throat where she was trying to swallow back her grief about Dale. True he had gotten on her nerves and they had very rarely seen eye to eye, but she had respected him for his honesty and his commitment to doing the right thing as he saw it. It took a lot of guts to stare down someone like her, Rick, or Shane, and disagree with them, and his loss was a deep blow to the group.

"I'll go with you." He offered quietly. "I don't think he'd hurt you, but he'd be more willing to argue with you alone than he would be if I was there. He is injured after all." He reasoned.

Fox shook her head weakly. "Thanks, but he's plenty stubborn enough to resist you. I'll bring him in." she murmured. She pulled her coat back on, wincing a little as her arm gave a throb of pain. She pulled the door open and left the house, grateful to be away from so many grieving eyes, but smacked in the face when she saw Dale's body lying painfully still in the snow. They would have to tend to him soon, but for now she forced herself to walk past. Daryl was indeed still bleeding and it wasn't hard to follow his tracks back down the road. She found him on the blacktop, leaning against the safety rail, a cigarette between his teeth. He must have had a stash in his bike's saddlebag. He looked up enough to see her coming but as soon as he registered who it was he dropped his head and took down a deep lungful of smoke, holding it in his lungs until he thought they would burst before he exhaled.

"Benjy needs to look at your leg. You tore the stitches." She murmured softly.

He shrugged. "I'm fine." He took another drag, exhaling the smoke and the inhaling it right back in before it could escape, only allowing it to dissipate after several fast breaths.

"I don't know what you need me to say." Fox said softly as she approached him. "I've never been so good at that. But I don't care if I say the wrong thing, you know I don't."

"So say what you want." He muttered, inhaling again, the tip of the cigarette flaring with orange light, illuminating his blue eyes that were like frozen pieces of a summer sky. Eyes she loved, eyes she knew were in so much pain he could hardly stand it.

"I know you're hurting. I know it hurts so much you can't even feel the whole thing or it would break you right now. We lost Sophia, and now Dale, and I know you're feeling like you failed. But you have to come back. You have to come back for to us." Her voice was strong, insistent. She wasn't letting go, she wasn't walking away.

"No, I don't. They just keep dying, Fox, what's the God damn point?" he cursed, taking another drag on the cigarette.

"They do keep dying!" She yelled, unable to control herself anymore as the pain and brutal bleakness of their situation struck her hard in the face. "They're in there dying right now, Daryl! They're dying and you can fucking do something about it!"

"What! What would you have me do! There is nothing that they need from me!" he yelled back, slamming his fist into the metal of the railing, tearing open the skin on his hand, smearing the icy surface with blood but he couldn't be bothered to care.

She came up to his side, undeterred despite the shaking in his shoulders. "You give them something nobody else can! Something that not even Rick can give and they desperately need it! You need it more than anybody else and you can only find it when you're with them! Fuck, even I can't give it to you the same way the whole group can! But when all of us are together you find it! You find it, and you show it to them, and they need it desperately, Daryl." Her voice was lowering now, but still stricken.

"What!" he snarled, his eyes flashing as he stared her down, both hands squeezing the metal of the railing so hard that the metal was actually beginning to bend.

"Hope." She whispered softly, a barely spoken word on the frozen air. "You give them hope, Daryl."

He spat at his feet, the cigarette finished and the butt tossed away. "You're out of your mind." He growled, turning away from her.

"No! You hear me out! You can't walk away from me, not after everything that's happened!" She ran around to cut him off, boots scraping against the gritty road even as the moon climbed higher and washed them in blue light as the snow piled up at the side of the road burned with silver fire. She pushed against his chest to force him back as he tried to go around. "You listen to me! You can push everyone else way but you can't get rid of me!"

"I don't wanna hear whatever head shrinking fantasies you got stewing in your skull! The group is broken! Sophia and Dale are dead, Rick's losing his shit, and now we've got a fucking army after us, lets not forget the world of motherless undead bastards waiting for us if we try to head South to keep ourselves from freezing to death! Just let it go!" he yelled.

"NO!" she snarled, and she slung her arm and smacked him across the face, slapping him so hard his head snapped around. Her chest was heaving as hot blood gushed through her veins even as her arm throbbed from the force she'd used on him.

"I'm sorry it came to that." She said as she tried to get her voice under control, still gasping for air. "But I'm not letting you walk away. Not until you hear me out."

He cracked his neck a little, working through the pain in his cheek and jaw from where she'd struck him. He supposed he deserved that; he had pushed her earlier in the day. But that didn't mean he wanted to stand here for any longer than he had to while she tried to screw with his head. She took his silence as permission to continue and she charged ahead.

"When the group first pulled together outside Atlanta, there was nothing to eat, no water, no shelter, nothing. People cobbled together what they could, but the food was only going to last for a few days, and nobody knew how to get more without risking being eaten by Walkers. Nobody except you. Every time you came back to camp with deer or squirrels, you gave them hope. Hope that they could actually make it in this world, that there was food, that it could be found, that they didn't have to starve to death. When the plantation was overrun and we had nowhere to go and Rick didn't know what to do, you were the one that suggested we come up here. We spent almost six months without running for our lives, without killing Walkers every single day. You gave us somewhere to go, somewhere we could build a life in. It was outsiders that came in and destroyed it. And when Sophia went missing…" she inhaled a deep breath, seeing his patience splinter and begin to crack. "When she went missing, you gave a terrified mother hope. You gave the whole lot of us hope that she could be found, she could be brought back, that it wasn't a death sentence. You risked your life for that hope, Daryl, every time you went to look for her. Nobody else has given us anything like that, not even Rick. Rick is a leader because he can pull us together when we are broken, but you…you give us a reason to keep fighting. You always have. Fuck, just by existing you give us that!"

"How you figure that?" he spat cynically, his teeth grinding together.

She stalked towards him, getting right into his face, still raw and stinging from where she'd struck him. "Because you've become more human in a world that is steadily ripping the rest of our humanity away. You've found yourself, Daryl. Before this you were withdrawn, cold, numb. You hated people and people hated you. But now… you've become human in this world while most of us are slowly turning into monsters…or just wasting away into nothing. You give us hope that we can survive, not just physically, but as the people that we were before the world ended."

Very cautiously she put her hands on his chest and then his shoulders. He stiffened under her touch but he did not pull away. She tightened her grip on him and whispered into his skin even as the tears began to drip from her eyes.

"I can't imagine the pain your in from believing that you failed Carol and the group and yourself. But you didn't Daryl, you didn't. I'm telling you that you didn't. I don't know if you can believe it, but its worth it to me to say it. I know there's a scared kid in there that was abandoned in the woods and nobody came looking for him, and all you wanted was to undo the past. You finally had your chance and it was taken away from you, and I'm so sorry." She pulled him tighter in her arms and listened to the steady beating of his heart. "But I'm here. I will always be here and I will never let go. The group needs you now. I need you now. Dale is dead and Rick is hurt and we have nowhere to go. It's not fair to ask, but its what you're best at, and we need you to come back. Please."

He gently pulled back from her so he could look into her eyes. The tears had ceased to fall but her skin was still damp and glinting in the moonlight. "Why? Why are you doing this?" he whispered.

"Because I love you. That's what love is to me; pulling you away from what would hurt you most and taking it myself. If I let you, you'd walk away from all of this and it would destroy you. You need them. I love you, Daryl. I love you and I will not let you walk away from us." Her hands tightened on his shoulders and he shivered in her grip.

He murmured in her ear, his breath warm as his hands pulled her into him. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"I'm sorry too." She replied. "It was the heat of a very tense moment. I know you would never really hurt me, as I would never really hurt you."

He nodded mutely and leaned against her. "I love you Dahlia." He whispered into her hair. Her hand found his and entwined their fingers, squeezing her affirmation back to him before very slowly leading him back towards the cabin. Everything else would have to be dealt with once they got there, but for now she had him and for her, that was enough.


	33. Chapter 33

_**Ladies and gentlemen, readers and reviewers, wonderful people out there, we are back again. Whew, what a ride it has been, and will continue to be. I love you guys! Just felt like throwing that out there =) **_

**FanFicGirl10**: _Wooooooooo Intense chapter! Damn Merle, but i hope Fox tells Daryl, Merle is still alive before he finds out from someone else. Poor Dale *Tears* I'm happy everyone else got out alive :) Yay Daryl apologized to Fox. Aww they said "I love you" to each other on Valentines Day, how romantic ;) Great chapter, Update Soon!_

Fox will definitely tell Daryl about Merle before he finds out from anybody else, she just wants to make sure she's got a firm hold on the situation, cause she doesn't really know how he'll react. That hurdle is really the last one they have to cross. Oh they did didn't they? I didn't even realize I had posted that on Valentines Day (otherwise known as Singles Awareness Day xD)

**ry123red**:_ ahh this chapter was so crazy and amazing! I love that Fox was able to talk to Daryl and make him see that he did give everyone hope. And I wonder how she's going to tell Daryl that she ran into Merle...hopefully she tells him before he finds out some other way. Awesome chapter, can't wait for more!_

Knowing Fox, she'll just come out and say it. She doesn't have a lot of finesse but she does care, and she does want Daryl to know, particularly before someone else can tell him. Fox went to him and told him everything she did because she really believes it, and all she wants really is for Daryl to believe it, but she'll be patient and keep telling him until he does.

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Oh My God! I think you out did yourself this chapter my dear. How you keep managing to make my emotions swirl and change in the blink of an eye never ceases to amaze me, and that's what makes you a great writer. Oh my feels this chapter, not only was the fight scene so detailed yet terrifying, not knowing who will make it and who won't, you do it as well as the show does, but you have also mastered the intimate scenes like Dahlia's speach at the end of the chapter. I was a bit high on sweets during that last review I had just gotten paid for the month so I decided to blow it all on candy, yep my prioritys are totally in order (not). This chapter was even more amazing because my iPod, where I always read this, seems to know when to play the right music for the moment, like the entire fight scene it played loud fight scene music and after it was more of sad quiet songs WTF I think my iPod spy's on me, whatever it made it even more epic. Well until next time. KAT AWAY (I seem to like caps)_

I knew this chapter was gonna be an emotional roller coaster ride, both with the battle scene and then later when Daryl cracked and tried to bolt. That was part of the reason why I wanted to write this fanfiction in the first place, was to explore all of those extremes, as well as being able to play with the suspense of rewriting the story as far as who lives and who dies. Oh the iPod, I cannot write without it, I always have to have music for my scenes. When I wrote the battle scene, I was listening to "On The Backs Of Angels" by Dream Theater, and when Fox went to talk to Daryl, I was listening to "You" by the Pretty Reckless if you're ever interested in checking out what helps to feed my muse =)

**hayleyjune13**: _awwww_.

Awww indeed. Lots of feels in that chapter man.

**Sage**: _The end… I cried. Seriously sobbed._

Awwwww! That's such a compliment to me, because by the end I was crying too! So to have my readers feeling what I was feeling is such a huge honor because that's what I want from my work is to connect and bring what I'm feeling to all of you guys. =D

**Emberka-2012**: _Oh, yes. She said to Daryl exactly what he really needed to hear._

Yes indeed she did. She didn't know if it was what he needed to hear, and she didn't really care. It was what she needed to say to him, so that if somehow he left, she couldn't say that she hadn't done everything she could. I actually started the idea for this story in my head with that scene. Everything before and after unraveled, but the core of this whole story was that scene.

**Kaleiburzz**: _Well, that was a terribly nerve wracking chapter. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was absolutely scared shitless that you were gonna kill Maggie or Glenn. This was a great update. Like, seriously. I like how you stirred Merle in the fight, and that it was Fox to encounter him. Cool beans that she and Daryl made up. Update soon. It's the least you could do after causing my heart to nearly give out._

Mm, I'm glad my battle scene was sufficiently frightening, and that nobody's getting too comfortable here, that's reassuring to me. The whole run-in with Merle was totally unexpected even to myself but I'm glad it worked its way in. And of course they made up, there too close to death too many times for her to stay mad at him, and for him to stay mad at her. In another life she would have held it out and driven him crazy and tortured him until he apologized first, but she's honestly too frightened of losing him to play those games anymore.

**WinterIsComing1015**:_ Yikes. OK - leggo. First of all, the depth of emotion around Sophia's burial was definitely heart-wrenching. I could feel Fox's grief and frustration at wanting to comfort Daryl and essentially BE comforted, but also knowing that's not what he needed at that moment and grudgingly giving him his space. I can totally relate to that - I'm a "fixer" and when someone around me isn't happy I just have to FIX IT - or, well, try. Sometimes unsuccessfully because not everyone WANTS to be fixed. Sometimes they just need to be left the fuck alone. And Daryl is one o' them folks. Then we have a dramatic shift with the assault by the group. Sigh. I'm glad Fox finally realized she needed to get over her (albeit understandable) abhorrence of guns to protect the group. And I can't wait until she sees Merle again and can REALLY put a hurting on his ass. Goodbye, Dale. He was a nosy old fart but I really liked that about him and he was sort of the shred of humanity holding the group together, both in this story and the show. And three deaths in one day? What are you doing to us? *shakes fist* Very touching scene between Fox and Daryl. It's SO HARD to try and comfort someone when they're dealing with way too many feels without sounding incredibly trite but she managed to push through that and push beyond his wall. Amazing._

Aye, Fox is such a strong personality and is so forceful, she doesn't care if she gets into people's faces as long as she gets her point across, but I think after having felt Daryl shove her she realized he just needed to breathe and come to grips with it on his own. For all the progress he's made, Daryl still isn't so intune with his own feelings and so until he can control them and keep them out of the spotlight, he needs to be alone. Mm, Fox and the gun. She'll still use her knives any chance she gets and the gun is most definitely a last resort, but that as a last resort moment. And she had promised she would do what she had to do in order to protect the group, and they needed cover fire. It was almost like how Michonne whacked the heads of her Walkers off. She didn't want to, but she did because in that moment, it was what was needed. As to when she meets Merle again…that is sure to be a very heated conflict, and Merle also got a taste of what she can do, she stabbed him in the foot, so he'll be all itching to put a beat on her too. 3 deaths in one day…well Sophia was pretty much dead from when she ran off, so it wasn't quite 3 but I get what you mean, and yeah…it's safe to say that's a shitty as hell day, and it ain't gonna get any easier my friend. *shakes head* Oooooh that scene at the end with Fox and Daryl. This whole story was spawned from that scene. I was toying with the idea of a Daryl/OC story but I knew immediately I didn't want the OC to be soft and vulnerable and have to be protected and taken care of. I wanted her to have a bite, to fight for what she wanted, and in that moment it was Daryl. Everything else unraveled and spawned, both prior, and from the future of that scene later. And in that moment Fox didn't know if it was going to get through him, but she laid it all out on the table in the hopes that it would. And it did.

**Emerald Gaze**: _"!" when did he learn her name!? in all this chaos i have no idea when he could have ever had the chance to learn it...and as for merle i can't wait till daryl finds out about him. considering what he did in the show i'm especially curious what you'll have happen since fox(dahlia) is such a big factor, i mean really blood is thinker than water but she's proven that merle isn't the only one that cares for him and if he's winning to leave the group for her i can only imagine how he would feel when confronted with his brother especially since fox sure doesn't like him and he tried to kill her also they said i love you! what a huge step in their relationship!_

Chapter 29! Did you miss it somehow? I can't imagine how! That was one of the most emotionally charged chapters we've had! Damn. Well if you did it's alright, now you have a frame of reference =) Mm, there will of course eventually be a clashing of the brothers because its unavoidable. Fox throws a huge wrench into what Daryl might otherwise do because yes, Merle is blood and for so long Merle was all Daryl had, no matter how cruel he might have been to him, and that kind of loyalty is powerful, but if there is only ONE thing in the world that can wrench that bond its a woman. I'm taking cues from the show for how Daryl would react in canon, but factoring in Fox will change the game too. And yes! They did finally say those three little words, also in Chap 29 for the first time. One of the brief moments of fluff before shit hit the fan.

**alicat**: _So. I love your story. I found it last night and just finished. It's amazing. The way you've written the charecters is amazing. I read so many stories where the author changes the personality of the main charecter to fit into the "prince charming" mold. If I wanted prince charming I'd read cinderella. I love that you kept Daryl true to his character while still showing the softer lovable side we all know is there. Also, you should feel really special. I don't write reviews. Ever. I read on my phone, and I hate trying to write out a review on this tiny little screen, but your story was worth it :)_

Awww, well hello there new reviewer, thanks for dropping in! Especially on your phone at that! (I understand, I don't review usually because I'm also on my phone, so I understand how that goes). When tackling The Walking Dead, I knew that I REALLY wanted these characters to be true to the show, because its who we fell in love with from the beginning, and changing it would just ruin it, so I'm SO glad that even after all this time the characters still come off as honest and accurate. When I first started this, I hadn't seen any of the third season and so all I had to go on was 1 and 2, so working with that I really had to dig deep and pull through all of those layers to get at his soft underbelly where his emotions lie which is part of the reason why the emotional development between him and Fox was so slow going. But I'm glad it seems to have paid off =)

**KassieIsa**: _I'm so glad you were born. You provide us with this wonderful story and for that, I love you. Do you like Carol? I feel like her character is a bit of a nuisance. Lately (in the show) she's been proving that she's an actually part of the group which I'm happy about, but still. I also don't really like Caryl (the Carol and Daryl pairing). I think it's so... Weird. I feel like Daryl looks at her like a mother figure instead of a possible lover. I'm glad Fox and Daryl worked out their problems. Oh and I diddn't mention this before but I really love Fox's name. It seems so fitting._

Awww, well you are incredibly welcome, and I feel so blessed and lucky to have been showered with all of these wonderful words of praise from complete and total strangers. As to your question about Carol…I like her in the sense that she provides an emotional outlet for Daryl, in her he has someone who has managed to pull his emotions out and be a safe container for them, but again like you said in a much more motherly way. I'm not into the Caryl pairing either. There's just too much connection between him and what happened to Sophia and her pain as a grieving mother, and his as a wounded kid who had also been lost in the woods and had never been found. In Season 3 I do think she has become more useful and I hope she continues to be. Her standing up to Axel when he tried to get cozy with Beth I felt was really powerful so I liked that. And I'm glad you liked Fox's name, I worked long and hard to find the right one, so I'm glad it fits.

**Saphireblu987**: _I decided to wait until I got to the last updated chapter to review. This story has been an emotional rollercoaster since the begginning! My heart is so heavy right now..but in a good-I'm-absorbed-deeply-into-the-story kind of way. Haha. This is probably one of the best Daryl/OC fics I've read for a long good while. Seriously though! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Fox. She reminds me of..well, me! There are no words to describe how much I LOVE this story..I hope it goes on for 300 chapters. No really..I hope it does. LOL! Thanks for taking time out of your life to entertain the greed. I am so greedy when it comes to great stories. I actually started this story this morning at like.. 10:30. That's how greedy I am. I can't wait. I REALLLLLLLLLLLLY look forward to future updates. And I apologize for all the caps. I don't usually use them but I felt that this was the perfect occasion. :)_

Well nice to see a new reviewer, thanks for stopping by! I'm so glad that you liked Fox, I wrote her to be tough and abrasive and a match for Daryl, and to be quite honest, I really didn't like Daryl until Season 2 when his softer side started to come out. But he grew on me ever so slowly, and so I tried to build that same kind of feeling between him and Fox, so I'm glad it seems to have worked, and I'm glad you like the story long! That was one of my concerns was that it was getting to be too much, but as I've said previous we are on the down hill slide, and nothing really slows down from here.

**Jerrie Higarashi**: _The ending of this chapter was amazing... I fucking loved it... I love how Fox was the one to calm Daryl down and she even have him a much needed slap to bring him back. Their love is powerful and very original. I love it! Very sad that Dale died /: I freaking liked him...Rick just got freaking shot again... -_- Jeez. I wonder if Michonne will appear as well... I hope so! Please update soon (: This story is beyond beautiful..._

Fox certainly isn't afraid to get in someone's face and say exactly what she thinks she needs to say, and Daryl just wasn't listening, and out of her fear he might actually try to bolt, she smacked him good and hard. But she loves him, and they both know where they stand with each other and so even if pushing and shoving and smacking each other is unconventional, they understand each other despite it. Aye, I knew Dale was on the chopping block from the beginning, but he was also one of my favs. But this is The Walking Dead, and more often than not, the ax is going to come down eventually. Yeah, poor Rick, he ain't doing so hot, and the hits will just keep coming…as far as Michonne, whether she will make an appearance or not, I'm not sure…we'll just have to wait and see.

**CenaGrace**: _Oh goodness! I didn't review the last few chapters and in sorry so let me give a brief one. Rick and Fox? I could see that. In fact, I thought about the possibility and it could have worked. Although, fox and Daryl are totally my favorite. Speaking of fox and Daryl. Oh. My. God. That was a beautifully written scene. So full of emotion and love. It was beyond perfect. It was so good I wanted to light up a cigarette. I don't even smoke! Ha! In all seriousness, it was a flawless scene. Looved it! _

Mm, Rick and Fox, I really teethed over whether to keep that or cut it, and in the end I left it, because I felt it would have been in keeping with the grey, ever blurring lines of the show although I'm glad that everybody is thoroughly of the mind that Daryl and Fox definitely belong together. As I've said a couple times already in other replies, that scene with Fox and Daryl at the end where she goes to him to bring him back, not just physically but emotionally, this whole story spawned around that one scene. I'd been chewing on an idea for a Daryl/OC story and I knew that I wanted it to be tense and hard and full of hard choices and pain but also a really deep sense of love and intimacy and care for each other. Everything else unrolled from that.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _I...Wow..This chapter was..amazing, depressing, tense, suspenseful all wrapped up into one section. It really captures the raw truth of humanity and how all the different characters grieve in their own way. I really loved this chapter, even if Dale died. Expertly written as always and I can't wait for the next chapter!_

And that was what I really wanted from this chapter, was to capture all of those extremes and the edges of emotion. I wanted it to hit people in the chest hard and jerk hard and pull on those heartstrings in all kinds of ways, and I'm so so so SO glad it seems to have worked.

* * *

When they returned to the cabin, the situation hadn't gotten any better. Rick was still unconscious on the couch and everybody else was nursing their wounds or shivering on the floor since this place wasn't built to hold ten people. Benjamin was tending what he could but in the end he could only do so much. A crushing weight of responsibility hit Daryl hard in the middle of the back as he stepped over the threshold.

"Is he gonna make it?" he asked the medic with his head nodded towards Rick.

Benjamin got up from where he'd been bandaging a minor flesh wound on Carol's arm and approached the couch, closely flanked by Daryl and Fox.

"He'll be fine. He lost a lot of blood and he's exhausted. I don't think he's slept since before Shane…" he trailed off when he saw Lori's grief stricken face, her fingers still clutching her husband's hand. Benjamin turned away from her and looked towards Daryl. "What are we gonna do? We can't stay here, it's only a matter of time before those people find us. And when they do, we're fish in a barrel."

Daryl gritted his teeth. "Let's panic the whole damn group." He growled with annoyance.

"Benjamin's right." Glenn piped up from where he was leaning against a wall with Maggie at his side. "We can't stay here."

The pressure building inside his skull was enough to make his bones feel like shattering. How did Rick deal with this every day? People depending on him, asking him what to do, and actually having a decent answer? He shook it off and gritted his teeth again. Rick was out of commission, he had to man up and do what was necessary to keep these people safe.

"First things first, we bury Dale. Then we move out. I say we head west. Those people who were after us, they're trying to drive us south into the open. No way, not now, not when the cold is about to thaw and the Walkers will be up and mobile again." He said, pushing a hand through his messy hair- it was in bad need of a cut but there was no time for that now.

_Think Daryl, they need jobs to do. Keep them busy. _

"Andrea, Maggie, get the shovels, start working on Dale's grave. The rest of us will pack up the supplies into the vehicles. We leave the RV. We don't need it anymore."

Andrea choked on a stiff sob but nodded her head. Daryl glanced at the blonde woman who was struggling to wipe away her tears and Daryl felt like an asshole for being so callous as he spoke but there was no point in sugar coating anything. They didn't have the time.

"Get what you want out of it and put it in the other vehicles. I wanna be out of here before midnight, let's go!" he barked. He rounded on Benjamin as the other members of camp went to make themselves useful.

"I know you grabbed your supplies from camp with you when we pulled out, but there are more here. Pack 'em up and get them in the car, we're gonna need them." Daryl ordered. Benjamin gave a sharp nod and took off into the back room to start boxing up anything he hadn't taken with him on his initial move. Daryl was already mentally cataloging what supplies they had as far as food and water was concerned. Only about two or three days worth of both for each bag they had. He and Fox had one, Glenn and Maggie, Andrea, Carol, Rick, Lori, and Carl. Dale had one but since he didn't see it in the vehicles or with the other bags he figured it was still at camp. Nothing to do about that now. He leaned his head against his palms for a moment and that was when he felt Fox come up to his side and lightly touch him on the arm.

"Let Benjy stitch your leg." She murmured, and it was only then that he noticed he was tracking blood everywhere because it was still running down his leg in scarlet rivulets. As soon as he saw the blood he felt the deep, stinging ache in his hip. He nodded and she went to fetch the medic from the back room who emerged carrying an armful of supplies and another duffel bag. He approached Daryl cautiously and the hunter followed the medic wordlessly and hopped up onto the table where the lanterns were still burning brightly. Benjy threaded the needle and pulled out the necessary disinfectants while Daryl pushed his pants down far enough so Benjamin could get at the wound.

"Christ, you tore it open completely. Don't do this again." Benjy muttered as he cleaned the wound with alcohol, causing Daryl to hiss sharply.

"Yes my liege." Daryl muttered sarcastically. "You're welcome by the way, saving your ass back there."

Benjamin cut eyes from him to Fox who was still standing close by. Now that there were less people in the cabin, now was as good a time as any.

"Daryl…right after you left the camp and I was helping to get Andrea and Dale…I saw Merle." She spoke firmly and met his gaze the entire time, although her insides were knotting up something fierce.

At first his face was blank but then as he really registered what she'd said, his expression morphed into surprise and disbelief.

"What? How could you know it was him?" he demanded. His voice was pitched, clearly surprised and disbelieving of what she said.

"He asked for you by name." she said, her fingers curling into fists to stop herself from shaking. "This was a parting gift." She rolled up her sleeve and showed him the freshly stitched gash on her arm.

He looked from the wound to her face and then hissed as Benjy tightened the stitches in his hip. "Why…how…he was with those men? Did he say anything else?" he asked. His eyes were almost pleading now.

Fox shook her head. "No. He wanted to know where you were though. He knew you'd be with us. He knew this was our camp."

"How the hell could he have known that…" Daryl trailed off, shaking his head, hardly aware of the pain in his hip now even as Benjamin continued working. "How could he have….Shane." he bit the name as though he were chewing on glass. "Shane and Sophia and…fuck, of course."

"What?" Fox questioned as Benjamin tied off the string and Daryl slid off the table, belting up his jeans and gingerly testing the weight on his leg. It still hurt, especially now that the medic had poked at it some more, but it would have to do for now.

"Sophia died of a broken neck, someone snapped it. Shane must have known, must have found out…must have known that they had her and that they'd killed her. Merle knew Shane from before he went missing in Atlanta…these people must have found Merle and took him in. Shane must have told them where we were." The thoughts were racing through his head so fast it was hard to separate them out and force them into any kind of logical order.

"But why…why would Shane do that…he had nothing against Carol or Sophia, why would he let them hurt her?" Benjamin questioned as Daryl began to pace.

"Fuck if I know, the man was crazy by the end. I don't really care. If Merle is here, than he'll be able to track where we went through the woods and find where we had stashed the vehicles. It's only a matter of time before they find us." He got up to his feet and moved for the back door to find Andrea and Maggie three feet deep in the ground beneath one of the trees at the edge of the clearing working on Dale's grave.

"It's gonna have to be enough." He said heavily as they looked up from their work.

"Why, what's wrong?" Andrea panted as she wiped the sweat off her brow despite the chill in the air.

"The group that chased us out of camp ain't gonna stop until they find us. I don't know what they want and I don't care, but my brother is with them, and he's like me, he can track. It won't be long until they find us and if they do, well…hell hath no fury like my brother pissed off." Daryl muttered.

Maggie nodded and hopped up out of the grave and helped Andrea to do the same. They both picked up their shovels and took them around the side of the house to load them in the car. Carol and Lori had been working to wrap Dale in a sheet that Benjamin had sacrificed from the cabin. Both women were trying to lift the body but Daryl nudged Lori out of the way and took the man by the shoulders. Fox came up on Carol's side and took one of Dale's legs to take half the weight. One by one the group followed in procession, all except for Rick who was still unconscious. Daryl felt a twinge of guilt, like he was somehow taking the man's place, but the group needed this closure and Rick would just have to understand that they couldn't wait. When they got to the grave they carefully lowered him in and began to pack in the earth around him, much the same as they had with Sophia and Glenn drove a quickly made cross into the ground at the head of the burial plot. They all stood in silence for a painfully long minute and Daryl knew that someone had to say something, and if Rick wasn't here, than it fell to him to step up.

"I ain't Rick, so I ain't the best with words. But Dale…he was a good man. A brave man. He wasn't afraid to say what he thought, to anybody, about anything. At the end…he said to me the group was broken. That Rick and Fox's decision to kill Shane had broken us. He was right about a lot of things, but that wasn't one of them. Rick, Fox, me…all of us. We will do what we have to do to protect each other. We'll prove Dale wrong, and that's how we honor him." Fox gently twined her fingers in with Daryl's as he finished speaking and squeezed. He didn't look at her, but he squeezed back as Andrea leaned against Lori, tears spilling from her eyes, and yet she did not look defeated, only sorrowful. Daryl was relieved for that, because he knew instinctively that no matter what happened, they were going to need every gun available and Andrea had a helluva shot. They couldn't afford for her to go to pieces the way she did after Amy's death.

They pulled away from the grave and went back into the house, still rattled and shaking but forcing themselves to move as fast as they could. Daryl helped direct the flurry of activity along with Lori who had a better eye for organizing things to get them all to fit since they weren't taking the RV and Rick was still completely out of it. Benjamin undid the IV string from his arm and motioned for Daryl to come over.

"Gotta get him in the car and then we're ready." Benjamin huffed. Daryl and Glenn immediately helped to shoulder Rick, hauling him outside and laying him down in one of the backseats after Lori and Carl clambered in. Andrea took the driver's seat and Carol in the passenger and then Benjamin jogged to Maggie and Glenn's car where they were waiting for them.

"You sure you don't want to ride with them? It's cold and your jacket's all torn." Daryl murmured as he picked through the rips and tears in Fox's coat as Benjamin piled into the car, looking at Fox expectantly.

"No. I'm with you." She answered firmly. Daryl shrugged his shoulders and nodded before tapping on the driver's side window to get Glenn's attention.

"Down the mountain, head west, lay on the horn if something happens. I'll lead." He instructed. The Asian nodded and cranked up the car and Daryl and Fox went to his bike. He swung on gingerly, wincing as the motion sent a flare of pain up through his leg but he ignored it as he gunned the engine to life. Fox climbed on behind him and squeezed his waist as he took the lead of their little convoy. She could feel him stiffening against the wind and the pain but she put her head down against his shoulder blades and leaned into him, doing her best to keep them both warm as he led them through the tree lined trail and onto the black top back down the mountain. The darkness was only deepening as the night wore on, the shadows were splintered and sharp, not the oil slick suffocating feel they had in the South in the summer at the dead of night. Fox swore she saw the egg rot of Walker eyes following them as they whipped around bends and curves, slowly but surely leaving behind what might have been a hard but worthwhile life. She clutched Daryl tighter, her hands almost numb but refusing to say anything about it.

Daryl led them through the night, deftly skirting the little town that they had been raiding supplies from all winter and swinging back onto the highway, heading West, having no idea exactly where to go, his head swimming as the miles ticked by and the dawn never seemed to come. Merle…Merle was here…had been here…they'd been so close…how…why…what would he have said had they met? What would they have done? Why had he attacked their camp…why hadn't he just tried to talk…what could they possibly want? What had Shane said, what had he done, had this been his fault? Had Sophia's death been his fault too? Had he made some kind of sick deal with these people? Had Merle made a deal with them too? There were so many questions and every single one of them just spawned even more. His stomach rolled uncomfortably at the thought of what might have happened had he and Merle actually met face to face. Would Merle hate him for leaving him in Atlanta? Fox had said he'd asked for him…but Merle was the type to offer a man a drink and then round house him as soon as he sat down at the bar, and man could he hold a grudge. His throat tightened at the thought of what Merle would do with the knowledge that Rick was down and they were at their most vulnerable right now. He forced those thoughts away as best he could, pulling his eyes to stare at the blacktop spilled out silver edged with black beneath the front tire. The bike had started weaving slightly as he struggled to stay awake and keep driving straight. He killed the speed a little just in case and bit the inside of his cheek to send a jolt of wakefulness through him. He couldn't think about Merle right now. All he could think about was getting the group out of dodge, getting them holed up somewhere safe so they could regroup. Rick would have to know something…have to have some reason…Shane had been his friend and he'd been the one to shoot Sophia down- Daryl hadn't missed the gaping wound caused by the python, so she must have been a Walker. How that had happened without her being bit was an unsettling enough thought, just add it to all the other ones piling up in his skull it was enough to make him want to knock back a few shots of whiskey real bad. But he couldn't. He had people counting on him.

They kept driving, weaving through cars and small clusters of shuffling Walkers, limbs crusted with ice that snapped and crackled as they blew past while the undead monsters shook themselves out of their stupors and began to follow the sounds of the cars. The sky was slowly beginning to lighten in the distance, just a faint easing of the blackness towards the east behind their heads. His body ached for want of rest and food but there was nowhere safe for them to stop. All around them were trees and broken down power lines that had long since iced over without anybody to maintain them and nothing else. Just miles and miles of deserted, God forsaken highway. His hands were starting to shake and the bike began to weave again. Fox nicked her nails into the back of his neck, the sharp jolt of pain starting him enough so his eyes were fully open. They had to stop as soon as possible.

He had no idea how far they'd driven but at last the trees thinned and Daryl realized they were on a merging piece of highway that would connect with an interstate. Which one he had no idea but it didn't matter. There were broken down cars littering the sides of the road but no signs of Walkers, and up ahead was a truck stop, a few big rigs still parked in the lot. It wasn't great, but it was as good a place as any. He guided the group through the debris and into the lot next to the nearest big rig before killing the bike's engine and climbing off, leaning against it for a minute while the feeling circulated back into his limbs. Fox did the same, pacing and flexing her hands to get the blood flowing.

"Everything ok?" Glenn asked as he and Maggie climbed out of the car while the other did the same, stretching out stiff limbs and necks.

"Yeah, just gotta stop, starting to not see straight. Get the bolt cutters from the back, we'll sleep inside, get going again once we've had a couple hours." Daryl muttered, cracking his neck and jaw carefully before going over to the Jeep, following close behind Benjamin.

"He's still out." Lori said worriedly as they both looked in on Rick who didn't appear to have moved an inch the entire trip.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Carl asked worriedly, looking between Daryl and Benjamin. Fortunately it was the medic who answered.

"He's gonna be fine. He lost a lot of blood and he hadn't slept in a while. His system just needs a while to reset. He's seen a lot worse kiddo." He stepped out of the way and helped Lori out of the car who leaned against the metal, one hand on her belly, the other clenching into a fist.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Benjamin demanded. Daryl's spine immediately tightened. If she went into labor now that would just be the icing on this seriously messed up cake.

"Nothing…" Lori panted. "The baby is just kicking the mess out of me." She unclenched her hand and her expression loosened and everyone present exhaled.

"Little ass kicker already and it ain't even born yet. It'll do fine in this world." Daryl snickered. Lori looked at him and at first he thought he might get bitched at for his sassing but she actually smiled. Fox bumped his shoulder just as Glenn finished cracking the lock on the back of the big rig. They all shuffled their supplies into the truck, which was empty except for a few cardboard boxes that nobody bothered to open. Getting Rick up into the truck was a pain in the ass, but once he was there and stretched out, Lori stayed at his side, as did Carl. Daryl leaned his head against the back of the metal of the rig and almost closed his eyes, except he remembered something.

"Whoever it is that can stay awake, take watch. Wake me in four hours." He muttered, not really caring if anybody heard him. He tried to sleep sitting up but failed and eventually just sank down on his back, stuffing his bug out bag under his head as a pillow before his eyes closed. The last thing he remembered was curling his fingers around the handle of his buck knife, and the other hand reaching for any part of Fox he could touch which in this case turned out to be her wrist before easing into unconsciousness, the blackness warm and comforting, too exhausted to even dream.

Fox took the responsibility for watch, making sure to keep her eyes focused on the outside world which was slowly growing lighter as the minutes passed. She wasn't the only one awake though. Carol was too, sitting opposite her in the rig, watching Daryl as her fingers ran through his hair in repeated motions.

"Thank you for bringing him back." Carol murmured softly. "Not just last night but when him and Shane didn't come back…" she trailed off, her voice cracking at the end. Fox could sense she was still trying to process what had happened, and who wouldn't after what they'd been through. She didn't know when it would all hit her, probably at the worst time, but for now she was still managing, still breathing without shaking, and that would have to be enough.

"I wasn't going to let him die out there. Or walk away from us. Even if he didn't want me to." She answered quietly.

"He pushed you…you weren't afraid he would hurt you?" Carol asked, her eyes concerned and very forlorn, and that was when Fox remembered her husband had been abusive. She had never actually met the man, but Daryl had told enough stories for her to get a decent idea.

"No. If Daryl has a weakness, it's striking blind in anger. But he's not an animal. He'd get a handle on himself before he really hurt anybody he cares about. I just pushed him further than he had been pushed in a while." She murmured, her fingers continuing to stroke his hair calmly, her eyes looking down to his sleeping form and then out the door of the big rig to keep an eye on the situation outside which was just as still and quiet as it had been before.

"You know I didn't like you much when we first met. And I thought Daryl was crazy for spending so much time with you." Carol added, shifting slightly against the back of the rig and arching her neck to work through another kink. Fox's lips twitched into a thin mischievous smirk.

"And now?" she asked, her red hair tumbling down her shoulders as she kept her eyes towards the exit of the rig.

"And now…now I think it might be you and him that pulls us together. Through this." She wiped at her cheeks as an unbidden tear slid free. Fox's heart twitched in several different ways, not all of them comforting. She turned her head and glanced at Rick who was still as stone, Lori and Carl laying next to him, covered up under a hasty made blanket of coats as they fought to keep out the cold.

"It's hard reconciling the two." Fox murmured. "Cause Daryl and I…we can take care of ourselves. But we both need this." Unconsciously she began to rub at the blood that was still dried on her skin and she wondered if she'd ever get ten minutes with a bucket of water and a scrub brush to clean up. Bathing was a luxury, especially after the first snap of cold, but she was still soaked in Shane's blood, and though it had dried, it was almost suffocating.

Carol nodded but didn't reply. She closed her eyes as she leaned up against the wall of the rig and Fox kept her eyes focused to the front in order to keep watch. She could sleep when they hit the road again and so instead of waking Daryl, she kept watch as the hours passed by and the group slept on. They needed it desperately and she knew that. Sometimes the best medicine for trauma was just to sleep until the nerves had settled. Everything could be processed later, when they weren't running scared for their lives. Every twitch outside made her skin crawl but the more she observed the more she knew it was nothing. Somewhere between five and six hours had passed when Rick finally stirred. Fox moved for the first time in a while as the sheriff slowly sat up.

"Where are we?" he rasped as soon as he looked down and saw that Lori and Carl were sleeping next to him and that everyone else was still out as well.

"Still in New York I think. We pulled out of the mountains and headed West. Not sure where we've landed." Fox said. She pushed her hands through her hair which was a matted, tangled mess and in that moment she twisted around and found her bag and pulled out a comb, determined to work through the knots, for no other reason other than to give her hands something to do.

Rick nodded slowly. "Is everybody ok?" he asked.

Fox bit her lip and stopped the motion of her hands, looking up at him with sad, sad eyes. "We lost Dale." The space between the syllables cracked as she exhaled and turned her eyes away.

Rick's face screwed up hard with pain. He doubled over, wincing at the tension in his back as he did so. His long fingered hands tightened into fists, each and every tendon popping out from the skin as he sucked in a breath between his teeth.

"How?"

"Shot in the chest. He was suffering. Benjy couldn't do anything…Daryl put him down."

Rick took another long breath in and picked his head up, looking almost peculiarly at the hunter who was lying on his side, his head next to Fox's thighs, almost in her lap, body curled slightly almost like a dog's. He looked peaceful like that, almost innocent, and it was hard to believe looking at him lying there that he had put a bullet in Dale's brain.

"Buried him?" Rick questioned, looking up at her as she resumed the motions of her hands with the comb through her hair. Fox nodded.  
"We couldn't wait for you to wake up…Merle was with the men that attacked us, and since he can track as well as Daryl can, it was only a matter of time before they found us. We had to go." She explained.

Rick's eyes widened slightly, a muscle in his neck flinching. "Merle? Merle was with the men that attacked camp? How do you know?"

"He asked for Daryl by name. Only had one hand. I already told Daryl about it, but he's going to want answers Rick. He thinks Shane had something to do with it, that maybe Shane knew these men and gave our location to them." She looked up at him, green eyes meeting blue steadily. Her tone hardened, demanding an answer. "Don't lie to me. I know it has something to do with this." She pulled on the chain around her neck and removed the pendant from underneath her shirt, dangling it on its chain as it swung back and forth, the little metal encased capsule glinting dully in the faint light that filtered into the truck from the open back end.

"You knew Shane better than anyone. Sophia was a Walker when we found her, Shane came back minutes after he died. You had better start talking Rick. Too many people are dying without answers for this to keep going." She growled. She curled her fingers around the capsule, her teeth all but bared.

"Shane said nothing to me about anything to do with Sophia or anybody else he might have found in the woods. He must have known the men because even if they had Merle with them, we were well settled into camp by the time they showed up, so they didn't track us there. As far as everything else is concerned…when the group wakes, I'll tell them."

Fox's lips curled. "Alright then." She murmured. She tucked the pendant beneath her shirt and then rammed her elbow at high speed into the metal of the wall behind her, jarring the rig and causing a loud racket. Immediately Daryl jerked his eyes open, his fingers tightening on his knife as he lunged upright.

"What, what's going on?" he panted.

"Wake up call." Fox replied very coolly although Rick was shooting her an eat shit and die look. He clearly wasn't interested in confessing what was going on, and she didn't care. The rest of the group had also startled awake, Lori immediately reaching for Carl as she sat up, pushing her messy hair out of her face.

"Is everybody ok?" Andrea asked, her gun already in her hand, the hammer drawn back.

"Everybody's fine." Fox said calmly. "Rick's got something to say, don't you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at the man.

The group all sat up from where they'd been laying, pulling in close, everyone making eyes at each other and reaffirming they were all still together. It wasn't the same as breakfast by the fire in the morning before chores, but it would have to do for now.

"I promised I'd explain why Sophia was a Walker even though she hadn't been bit. I already know about Dale and Merle, Fox filled me in." he said just as Glenn was about to open his mouth worriedly. Maggie leaned into his shoulder gently and Rick twitched his eyes to each member of the group before taking a long breath in.

"When we went to the CDC, we split up. Nobody really found anything except for me, I went down into the basement looking through their labs. Just before everything went to hell, one of the docs wrote up a report that said that we were all carriers of the disease. Whatever this is…whatever is causing it…we all have it."

Daryl's eyes narrowed. "So…it don't matter how we die. We'll come back as one of them."

Rick nodded. "Unless you hit the brain before hand." His voice was thin.

"What about the baby…" Lori immediately whispered, her fingers clutching into tight balls, nervous shaking wracking her shoulders.

"I don't know. The paper was vague…the notes were handwritten, it was so bad I could barely read it. The note was taped up to a glass case at the back of the lab." He met all their eyes and as he expected, there was revulsion going through them, even shame, as if they'd been contaminated by something filthy.

"Why…why would you keep this from us?" Carol demanded. "We have a right to know something like this!"

Rick's gaze hardened. "Would it have made a damn bit of difference?" he growled.

"You still shouldn't have kept it from us." Carol said although her voice wasn't as firm now.

"Why did you keep it from us?" Andrea asked, her tone more rational and calm than Carol's although her eyes were hard as slate.

Rick clenched his teeth for a long minute as he tried to find an answer. "I didn't want to spark panic. I didn't want to kill the idea that we can make a life for ourselves unconnected from all of this shit, that's why!" he snapped. Lori flinched at his aggressive expression and Fox cut her eyes at him. It was clear he wasn't going to say a word about what she had around her neck and although it was damn tempting to pull it out, she decided not to turn the group against him more than she already had.

"What about the group that was after us." Glenn piped up. "Why the hell would Merle attack Daryl's camp and risk him getting killed? Or have something to do with people who would?"

Rick ran a hand through his already mussed curls, his shoulders shaking with the stress and tension. "I doubt Merle is calling the shots in that group, and even he ain't stupid enough to try to take that world out there on his own with one hand. I'm sure he came with them to try to get Daryl out of harm's way. But as to why they're after us…I only have one explanation. Shane must have found them at some point, be it in Georgia before we left or sometime after we made camp here. He must have told them we went to the CDC for answers and told them to hound us for what we found."

"Which was nothing! Wouldn't Shane have known that? He was with you when you went to the CDC." Glenn argued.

"Shane was crazy by the end. Who knew what he thought I'd found…who knew what he promised these men. The only thing we can know for any certainty is that we cannot go back to the valley." His head fell forward on his neck as if being pushed but he managed to pick himself up again and meet their eyes. "And as I said before. Nobody is stopping you from trying to make it out there on your own. You don't like where this is going…fine. Go make something for yourself and see how far you get!" His voice had dropped to a low, hissing tone, eyes sparked with vicious fire. Something snapped inside Fox as she watched the man disentangle himself from his family and leave the truck but before he went far he spun back on his heel. "Daryl. A word." It was not a question. He turned back and stalked away and Daryl shifted carefully, working the blood back through his stiff leg. He'd be happy when the damn wound healed but for now he still had to be careful. He picked up the crossbow that had been laying beside him this whole time and slung it over his shoulders as he picked his way through the group's entangled legs and left the truck. He felt more than saw Fox's presence at his shoulder but he gently leaned a hand on her upper arm.

"I got this. Get some rest." He murmured. To his surprise she nodded and slid back to where she had been keeping watch, curling around their bug out bags and closing her eyes as if grateful for the few moments of quiet, even though the other members of the group were shifting restlessly. Daryl gingerly lowered himself out of the rig and approached Rick who was standing a few yards away, staring out at the empty stretch of black top, decorated only by the debris of broken down cars and trash that twitched in the cold wind that blew through.

"There's just one thing I need to know from you." Rick started, every word grating between his teeth like shards of glass. "If it comes down to it, us versus Merle, who is it gonna be?"

Daryl's stomach tightened hard. He tried to speak but Rick, sensing his expression, cut him off. "I have to know. I have to be able to count on you, I need you Daryl. If something happens, just like what happened at camp, if I go down, I have to know I can count on you to do what's necessary. I know you and Merle are brothers but I need to know exactly where you stand."

Heat burned through Daryl's flesh, his fingers tightening on the strap of his crossbow. "Merle is my blood, ain't nothing gonna change that. But I won't let him hurt us."

"You didn't answer me!" Rick snarled. Despite the cold air sweat was breaking out on his brow and his shoulders were shaking. "If it comes down to it, who is it going to be! Are you with us? Or him?"

Daryl's fingers clenched into a tight fist. "I'm with you. But you can't ask me to draw on him."

"And what about Fox? If he hurts her to turn you against us, will it work?" His eyes were as hard as slate, without mercy or compromise and Daryl realized this was a man very, very close to rattling himself to bits.

"I won't let him get that far. Merle is my brother, and he's got a few screws loose, but he ain't evil." He scraped his foot on the cold, damp concrete underneath his boots. "Besides. Do you really see Fox going down without raising holy fucking hell? I'd be more worried someone would shoot her to keep her quiet than using her as leverage." He tried to make light of the tension. Rick was in no condition to handle this right now. He'd just been shot and they'd been forced to run from their homes, again. And to be honest, he wasn't really in a condition to deal with this either.

"So where do we go from here?" Daryl asked quietly as Rick's expression slowly loosened. It was clear they hadn't really come to a resolution but Daryl wasn't willing to budge, because he honestly didn't know what would happen if he saw Merle face to face. He liked to think and tell himself that he'd be able to turn and walk away from his brother if he had to…but he didn't even want to entertain that possibility. He'd left him once, alone, bleeding, burning in hell on a Georgia rooftop. He certainly didn't want to go through that again, or face Merle's wrath for that decision. He'd built a life for himself with these people that didn't include Merle, and there wasn't like a neat little slot he could fit into if he showed up on their ever changing doorstep. He knew for damn sure Fox would have a tough time adjusting to him, if she ever did at all. The whole fucked up mess made his head feel like it was going to split open and he was grateful when Rick spoke.

"We need to find another place to stay. Lori is due very soon. Basically at any time." Rick began to pace restlessly. "She can't take much more of this."

Daryl nodded. "Then I say we find somewhere warm and hole up until she has the baby and after that, keep moving."

Rick was shaking his head back and forth, pacing a few feet side to side, one hand bumping the holster for his python which was empty. When he realized this he looked up at Daryl.

"Where's my gun?" he asked.

"Carl has it. I gave it to him when you went down." The hunter explained. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a shambling corpse starting to stagger across the highway and head towards them, moving stiffly against the cold. Daryl's fingers tightened on the strap of his crossbow but he didn't move just yet. They had time.

"You got them out?" Rick questioned, his tone much softer now.

Daryl nodded. "Took you, Carl, Lori, Benjy, and Carol and bailed out. Dale and Andrea were stuck by the lake but Fox, Glenn, and Maggie went back for them." He kept one eye on the Walker and the other on Rick. "That must have been when Merle showed up, cause I'd of known otherwise."

Rick nodded. "Alright. We've got enough food to last for a few days, we're just gonna have to muscle through until we find somewhere safe to stay put."

Daryl shifted his weight carefully. "There's no game anywhere around here now, Rick. Unless you want us running for supplies in houses or stores, we're going to have to go South for food. It's just the facts. Winter ain't over yet. We've got at least another solid month of cold and ice before it lets up, especially if we stay here."

Rick put his fingers to his temples and pressed, eyes squeezing shut as he exhaled a long breath. "House to house. We don't have any choice. I am _not _going back down South just as it starts to get warm and those assholes are getting up and moving again. Not now." He spun on his heel, pulled out his spare handgun from its holster on his leg, and fired a single, powerful shot into the Walker that had been steadily getting closer. It was completely unnecessary, a waste of a bullet, but as Daryl watched the ice crusted body fall, black blood and brains splattering onto the concrete, Daryl felt the burn of satisfaction as if he'd pulled the trigger himself. He saw more than heard the sharp exhale as Rick lowered the gun and carefully slid it back into the holster.

"Let's go."


	34. Chapter 34

_**Alright ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, here we go again! I was on a huge writing kick yesterday, 25 pages later and ohhhh the impending feels. Enjoy guys!**_

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Great chapter as per usual. Not too much too talk about here so. Okay you seem to like Daryl so you need to check out the song Judas by Lady Gaga and make sure you watch the whole video, and also have you heard of either Kingdom Hearts, or Fullmetal Alchemist, cuz at this moment I'm writing a fic about them. Sorry for short review and not really relevant review I'm in a huge hurry so...KAT AWAY_

Mmm, I love Daryl and all things Norman Reedus at this point. Of course I know Judas by Lady Gaga, one of my fav songs (and music videos for obvious reasons xD). I know of Kingdom Hearts and Fullmetal Alchemist, but I'm not familiar with those fandoms. But if you like Norman Reedus, I highly recommend you check out the movie Boondock Saints and its sequel, Boondock Saints: All Saints Day. Both excellent movies. =)

**alicat**: _Loved it :)_

Well I'm quite glad =)

**FanFicGirl10**:_ I love that Daryl took over leadership role :) I also love that Daryl gave Dale's speech :) Yes Fox told Daryl about Merle :) I really hope Daryl picks Fox over Merle if it comes down to it! Love it,Update Soon!_

Daryl is definitely Rick's second in command, and when the leader goes down, it falls to him to try and pick up the pieces and go on. Daryl could be a very competent leader if he so chose to be, but his emotional state isn't wired to handle it, even less so than Rick's. As for whether Daryl will choose Fox over Merle if ever such a decision has to be made…we shall see ;)

**Emerald Gaze**:_ nice little detail about rick's gun there and his evasion on the topic of the 'secret weapon' was interesting also, wooo go daryl! takin charge! daryl is best character... though now i'm curious to see if the second best char (michone) will show up in ur fic and if she'll get to stya with the group.. maybe she'd get along with fox too? man i wish i hadn't of missed tonights episode cuz i really wanted to both read and watch walking dead but at least i got this it helps to keep me from getting too upset and makes it easier to wait for a rerun!_!_

Hehe, yeah, Rick is evading a lot of things at this point. There's a lot he definitely doesn't want to talk about or deal with, but he's gonna have to eventually. And of course Daryl is gonna step up, he ain't gonna let the group drown, not if he can help it. I love Michonne too, but whether she makes an appearance in my fic….well, you'll just have to wait and see ;) although I do think she'd get along well with Fox. Oh MAN you have GOT to see the episode, there were scenes with Daryl and Merle that were absolute gold. I won't spoil it, but it was sooo good!

**Kaleiburzz**: _Hah, Fox is awesome. No bullshit with her. And certainly no beating around the bush and stalling (cough, cough, Rick). I laughed out loud when she woke everyone up. Woohoo! Good for Daryl! Stepping up and taking charge like that! So hot. Lol. Soo, kind of an uneventful chapter. Still very good and necesary though. Getting their shit together and whatnot. I hope that's setting up for a highly eventful next chapter? Oh! Are you going to write in the prison? That would be pretty awesome. Fox should be the one to run for the gate. Anyway, I'm getting off track. Update soon!_

Definitely no bullshit with Fox, that is most certainly one of her distinguishing qualities. She's a bit like Michonne in that sense. And she has just about had it up to here with Rick's secrecy but out of respect for him she'll keep her mouth shut about the secret between them. Mmm, it is quite sexy to see Daryl take charge isn't it? He's good at it, he could be just as efficient a leader as Rick is, but I do think they would have some differences. Oh trust me. This next chapter has soooo much going on, hang on tight! As far as the prison goes, I probably won't write it in, because again, I wanted my fic to be clear and separate from most of the canon plot of the show, but I gotta say, its a freaking awesome setting for the show itself.

**Emberka-2012**:_ I like how well Fox understands Daryl._

She does understand him, and I really wanted that to be shown throughout this story and their relationship. They are definitely like minded creatures.

**oXxgeorgiaxXo**-_ Drama and action. LOVE IT! Xxxxxx_

And there's only more to come =)

**sage62442**: _Great chapter! I always read everything in Daryl's sexy voice ( ; On a completely unrelated note what time zone are you in?_

Gah Daryl's voice is like liquid sex for the ears. If they could bottle that they'd make millions. I actually live in Hawaii, so for a frame of reference, I'm 5 hours behind East Coast time. When Daylight Savings Time rolls back, I'll be 6 hours behind the East Coast cause Hawaii doesn't have DST.

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Poor Daryl (now that he came back to his senses on the show, I can go back to being on his side about everything). To shoulder the burden of leading the group when he clearly never wanted a leadership position, in fact was always used to being a follower with Merle, has to be so much pressure. I can honestly say I would neverrrrrrrrrrrrrr want that job. Kudos to him though for holding his shit together and getting them out of there. Fox's "wake up call" made me laugh! Leave it to her to say "Fuck yo' rest, ain't nobody got time for that" to hear Rick's declaration. And yet another seamless inclusion from the show - Beside the Dying Fire is actually one of my most favoritest eppies of season 2. The scene between Rick and Daryl was very tense and hopefully they are ok with each other... I get the sense that Rick is picking up on Daryl's self-doubt as to how he will react when he and Merle come face to face. Guh. That's happening soon, yeah?_

Jesus Christ on a cross, I would never EVER want to be a leader for a group of survivors either. That is so much pressure and you never know if the decisions you make are gonna keep the people safe or get them all killed because sometimes it doesn't matter how much you plan and how hard you fight, shit sometimes happens and people are gonna die. Daryl feels all of that and there is double pressure because if he calls the shots while Rick is down and something bad does happen, Rick could possibly lay the blame on him (he hasn't been all that mentally stable lately has he?). But he'll definitely hold it together for as long as he can to give Rick time. He's his second in command, he has to fill Rick's shoes as much as he can until Rick can get it together. Mm, Fox hadn't had the chance to show her spiteful side in a while so it was nice I could throw that in there. There is definitely still some tension between Daryl and Rick, because Daryl really couldn't give him a straight answer as to how he would react with Merle. In the show, when the group was under fire, he chose to go with Rick and the others, but after they escaped Woodbury…well we know what happened with that. And then of course this week's episode (GAH THE FEELS! SO MANY WONDERFUL FEELS!) so that definitely switches up the game a bit. But yes, he and Merle will come face to face soon, sooner than I think either of them are really ready for ;)

**kyri0sity**: _Most of the time I'm on my mobile, but this was worth finding a computer for. The detail in your writing is superb! The interactions of the characters & their inner dialogue is fantastic. I feel like I'm right there. Other than a few misspellings there's not much to fault. The only thing that stood out to me was the treatment of wolf bites, but not a lot of people know about that anyway. In my experience those were left to heal from the inside out (b/c germs & bacteria & typeof wound, puncture), only adding a stitch where necessary to stop the bleeding, then twice a day: soaking the area in vinegar & scrubbing with a nailbrush to get rid of the proud-flesh. Can't wait to see your next chapter!_

Well hello there new reviewer, awesome of you to drop in! That's awesome info about the bites, thanks for sharing =) If ever I get bit by a dog or another wild animal, I'll definitely bare all of that in mind. I've been fortunate in that I've never had any critter bite me more than just a playful bite here or there, but some of them have hurt enough that I can start to imagine what it would be like if the critter was actually serious. Anyways, thanks so much for leaving me a review, even after all this time, it's awesome to hear new voices =)

* * *

The next two weeks were hell. Moving every few hours, constantly hounded by a trail of Walkers and a very limited supply of food. Rick's grab bag still had plenty of bullets but unfortunately they couldn't eat lead slugs. The temperature had taken a sharp dip and they were all shaking and shivering no matter where they hid. The only good thing was there had been no sign of the group that had driven them off the mountain. The group had begun to find a rhythm in moving from place to place, moving in tight formation, preserving their ammunition as much as possible. Once when they'd sheltered in a sporting good's store they had found machetes and an ax, and Fox had given them all training on how to most efficiently use the bladed weapons. If it was just a small group of Walkers, they took them out individually, but if they were surrounded, the always kept moving, one person striking a Walker down, the next stabbing it in the skull before sweeping on, and always Lori was in the center of their little group. It was getting harder and harder for her to move, the pain was increasing day by day, and more than once all of their hearts had leapt up into their throats because they thought she was about to go into labor. They'd had yet to find a suitable place to hole up for any length of time for her to safely have the baby, but the time for getting picky was over. She was less than three days from the rough due date Benjy had given and Rick's stress levels were so high he barely spoke to anybody. Daryl did his best to back the man up and give him the space he needed but he couldn't help but feel worried for him.

After stealing a map from the truck stop they'd figured out that by now they'd made their way down into Ohio. What town they were blowing through right now they didn't know and didn't really care, all they needed was a place to stash Lori until the baby was born. Every stop they made jarred and rattled her all the more and Benjamin hard warned that unless they find a place to hole up, she could end up having to give birth in the back of a moving car. Rick had stopped their convoy in the middle of a lonely highway surrounded by a thin copse of trees on either side, ice encrusted power lines overhead beneath an iron grey sky.

"What is it?" Daryl asked as he killed his bike's engine and he and Fox swung off as the others piled out as well.

"Lori." Carol panted as she piled out of the car and hurriedly jogged up to Rick. "The contractions are starting up again. Her water hasn't broken yet, but it's bad."

Rick put his hands on the hood of the vehicle and leaned against it, sucking in a deep breath. "Alright. Everybody stay here. Me, Daryl, and Fox will scout ahead and see if there is anywhere we can pull into. If not, we'll have no choice but to make due with what we have."

They all nodded and Rick turned to Carl who was keeping a vigilant watch behind the car, swift eyes sweeping over the road, almost a miniature version of his father. Rick put his hand on Carl's shoulder and dropped down to be at eye level with him.

"You take point, if something starts coming before we get back, pull out. You keep your mother safe." He told him. Carl nodded and Rick hugged him briefly before getting up and walking towards Daryl and Fox who were waiting for him on the side of the road.

"There's something through there, the trees aren't thick." Daryl said, nodding his head down a steep embankment that led into the scrubby woods. Rick motioned for him to lead and so he made his way down the slope, boots slip sliding through the frozen mud as they made their way down. It had rained almost daily for the past four or five days and the only good thing about it was that they had an almost regular supply of fresh water. They all made it down the hill and then headed into the trees, ripping their way through scrub brush and thorns, keeping an eye out for anything moving that wasn't caused by themselves. It only took five or ten minutes of walking before the trees cleared and they came to a large open field, and in the distance a large brick and cinderblock building.

"The hell is that?" Fox asked. She had one kukri knife in hand and a handgun tucked into the waistband of her pants. Daryl had been both surprised, and relieved, when she'd told him that she was at least willing to carry a gun now although it would still be her last resort in a fight. He'd been working on her aim and her skill in using it as well as caring for it and so far her aim wasn't bad. She had a steady hand but was often liable to pull the trigger too quickly instead of taking the time to really seek the target and hit it dead on.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the building, sweeping the field carefully making sure there was nothing moving. The building was surrounded by a chain link fence that cut through half of the field and circled back around towards a road that ran perpendicular to where they stood now, and looked strangely familiar. It rang a brief calling card through Daryl's mind but he couldn't place it.

"It's a school." Rick finally said as his fingers loosened on the handle of the machete he'd been carrying. "It's a high school."

Fox chuckled. "No wonder I didn't recognize it. Looked more like a prison to me." She said, glancing at Daryl who's lips twitched with amusement as well.

"Think we can use it?" Fox asked as they all crept a little closer to the fence. There were Walkers staggering around behind it, most of them adults and not very many teenagers, so this place had probably been abandoned for a long time and they had just wandered in through the front gate that from this angle they could see was open. There was a gravel road maybe a quarter mile long that lead from the blacktop to the front of the school and it's parking lot. As they moved around from the back of the building towards the front to get a better view they saw more geeks ambling about but nothing overwhelming. The front glass doors were smeared with blood but were otherwise unharmed. Further on down was a large metal building Daryl recognized as a gymnasium. They continued to case the building and with relief they noted that all of the windows they could see were boarded up, and unlike most schools, the architect must have done it on the cheap because there was nothing fancy about the building itself, just a bent out of shape rectangle of cinderblock and mortar, two stories high, and the gym to the side.

"If we pick off the Walkers, I'd say we have a good shot." Rick murmured softly. He approached the fence and despite the numerous amount of geeks nearby, he gripped the chain link tightly. "This place could be a gold mine."

"Yeah, if the inside ain't full of even bitchier teenagers than usual." Daryl said as he also approached the fence. He was tempted to tell Rick to back up, the Walkers were headed straight for them and he still hadn't let go of the fence, but the man seemed inexplicably drawn to it, as if he could see something nobody else could.

"Hey, I resemble that remark." Fox said as she also came close to the fence. She glanced up and noted the barb wiring on top and her eyes narrowed. "Why is there barbed wire on a high school fence?"

"Have you met teenagers from your generation? Ain't exactly the friendly sort, they probably didn't want them breaking in. Or out." Daryl said as he turned back to Rick. "What do you wanna do?"

Rick stared at the building long and hard for another minute before finally letting go of the fence and pulling back just as a Walker threw itself at them, gnashing ruined jaws trying to bite them. Rick picked up a rock from the ground near his feet and bashed its head through the fence, watching with satisfaction as the body dropped. Of course another took its place but Rick let the rock go and looked at Daryl.

"Let's take it. We'll pull the vehicles up close and clear the yard, then head inside. If its overrun we'll pull out, but if it's only a few, we can take them." His voice sounded edgy, as if he were almost excited about the prospect of a battle. Daryl couldn't blame him. They'd been running for two weeks waiting for the next shoe to drop on pins and needles, waiting desperately for the fur to fly. It'd be good to have a chance to work some of that energy out.

"Alright then." Daryl said with a nod. They cased the building, moving up to the front and the road, tugging on the gate to get it moving easier before turning away and walking up the black top. It was about half a mile following the curve of the road before they came back to the vehicles and Daryl let Rick take the lead, dropping back and staying close to Fox's shoulder as they kept watch.

"You think he's gonna be ok when the baby's born?" Fox asked quietly as she kept one eye peeled for anything that might come up at them from the road, and one eye on Rick's back.

"He's just gonna have to be." Daryl said, trying to ignore the way his stomach was rumbling for want of food. The last time they'd eaten was yesterday morning, cans of cat food that they'd found in the last house they'd been sheltering in. He'd been keeping an eye out for any sort of game, even fresh road kill wouldn't have been off the table at this point, but there was nothing. The recent wet weather had driven all of the rodents into the burrows and he hadn't seen a deer since long before they'd left the mountains. At least the snow was beginning to melt and no more seemed to be falling, now it was just cold, bone chilling rain.

"Have to be doesn't mean he will." Fox muttered.

Daryl looked at her out of the corner of his eye and readjusted his crossbow carefully. He'd been having to be careful with it since the bones in his hand had only just started to heal. It was ever so tempting to dip into Benjamin's stash of painkillers to take the edge off, but he refrained, knowing that he needed to be alert and as sharp as possible. It was all too easy for him to be trying to catch a few minutes of sleep and right then a horde of geeks to mob whatever shelter they'd tried to find that night.

"He will be." Daryl said quietly. "He's maintained all this time, I don't see him losing his shit once the kid's finally born. If anything it'll help. Won't have that ax hanging over our heads."

Fox nodded. "I hope you're right." She said softly.

They made their way back to the vehicles, Carl resting on the hood of the Jeep keeping watch. As soon as he saw their approach he whistled to the others to let them know they were back and Rick came hurriedly to the car where Benjamin was tending Lori. The woman had her fingers curled around the medic's hand breathing heavily, her head knocked back against the seat.

"How is she?" Rick asked, his tone tense and voice tight in his throat.

"Her water broke just after you left. Almost ran to get you, contractions are about ten minutes apart. Did you find anything?" His blonde hair was a matted tussled mess falling into his eyes as his New York accent peeked through his words, and Daryl could understand his nervousness. Rick was counting on Benjy to see Lori safely through the delivery, and if anything happened to her…there was no telling what the man might do.

"We found a school about half a mile up the road. The front yard's got Walkers, but we can take them. The windows are all boarded up, so whoever might have been there before knew what was going on."

"And inside?" Carol asked as she came up on their other side.

"Don't know." He responded. Rick turned away from Lori and nodded to the rest of the group.

"Pack it up, let's go. Daryl you lead. We'll pull up in front of the school, Carl you stay with your mother and Benjamin, watch our backs make sure nothing comes up behind us. The rest of us will move through the yard and pick off the Walkers there and in the parking lot. Then we'll get inside, and if it's overrun we bail and keep driving. Knives first, guns as a last resort. Daryl how are you on arrows?" the sheriff turned to the hunter as the rest of the group piled back into the cars.

"Three bolts left. No decent wood to make more since we came off the mountain." Daryl replied as he and Fox moved back to his bike.

"Alright, be careful." Rick warned before he climbed back into the car with his wife and son. Daryl and Fox swung back up on the bike and cranked the engine to life. Already Fox's blood was pumping with the anticipation for a fight. They'd been picking off Walkers here and there since having been on the road but they hadn't had a good solid fight for a long time. She'd been restless ever since they'd come off the mountain, again, just waiting for the shoe to drop. She'd kept her hands off of Daryl physically since he'd been injured but as he moved easier and more fluidly it was getting hard to ignore how long it had been. She knew he felt too, he'd made a pass at her a few nights ago when they were holed up in an abandoned and empty water truck that had overturned on the side of the highway. She'd almost gone for it too, except that there had been no way to sneak out without waking the rest of the group and they were on watch together. Maybe if the school turned out to be safe they'd get some time for themselves.

They drove back up to the school and fanned the vehicles out, Daryl killing the bike's engine and strapping his crossbow firmly to his shoulders before pulling his buck knife free of its holster. Rick and the rest of the group had already piled out already, Andrea holding firmly to an ax while Glenn and Maggie were both armed with machetes. Carol came prepared as well, carrying a heavy-duty crowbar that they'd used not only to bash in skulls but also to pry open doors and anything else that stood in their way of getting at supplies. All of them had their guns at the ready and Carl immediately scrambled up to the roof of the car his mother and Benjamin were still sheltered in to get a better vantage point, his pistol armed with a home made silencer.

"Let's go!" Rick snarled and Daryl jerked open the gate wide enough to allow the group in formation to pass through.

Immediately they were hounded by Walkers, hissing and snarling, reaching for them with frozen, bitten off fingertips, blood crusted faces and running egg rot eyes swiveling towards them. Fox yowled with satisfaction as she unsheathed both her kukri blades and hacked off two heads before impaling another. Daryl swept forward and struck another Walker in the shin to take it down before stabbing it in the temple with his buck knife and immediately they were up and moving again.

"Watch yourself!" Rick warned as they all pressed in back to back, killing any Walkers that came too close, moving steadily up the road but more corpses shambled towards them from the brown grassy lawn towards the parking lot they were making for.

"We should split and pick 'em off, it's not that crowded." Glenn panted as he swung his machete and cracked a Walker over the skull, splitting it almost cleanly down the middle before putting a foot in its back to jerk the blade free.

Rick glanced up at the parking lot and saw all of the corpses shuffling towards them, thirty or forty in all. They needed to take out the Walkers coming from the yard so they didn't have to worry about something at their back.

"Fan out in the yard! Kill what's there, then sweep towards the parking lot." Rick ordered.

Fox immediately broke from the group and swept her blade across a Walker's face, splitting it open easily, the blade digging into the brain and splattering pieces of it as she swung the weapon. She ducked and shouldered another corpse into a smaller group of them and while she was bent down, Daryl swung his crossbow and fired his loaded bolt, taking the middle Walker out. Fox jumped back and drove one blade through a Walker's jaw into its skull and then spun, swiping her second clean through the top of the skull. She nodded to Daryl as he jerked his arrow free and she provided him a bubble of protection while he loaded the bolt again.

They jogged down the right side of the building, being careful of the slick mud and patches of frozen grass as they did so, picking off Walkers almost as easily as if they were using a gun. There was a fierce joy when Fox kicked off the ground and whacked a head clean off its shoulders and Daryl came up behind and stabbed it with his knife to stop it from chomping its jaws. They took out another ten Walkers in a similar fashion before whirling back around and heading towards the parking lot where the rest of the group was meeting up.

"Back to back!" Rick yelled as he swung his machete and Andrea covered him with her ax, striking a Walker hard in the cheek, sending its jaw flying and skittering onto the concrete. Immediately Carol came behind her and smashed the Walker with her crowbar, the pointed end digging into the bone and pulling out chunks of brain as she swung it back over her shoulder.

They pulled back into formation and stepped up off the sloping gravel path and into the parking lot. The thirty something herd had banded together and so they worked the edges, moving around and around in circles, picking off the Walkers they could reach, just waiting for one of them to leave the safety of the tighter group which the living would not dare to move into. Within ten minutes they all lay dead, skulls broken, heads cut off, some of them still gnashing hungrily. Those they worked quickly to dispatch and then Rick turned towards the steps and the bloody glass doors that would lead into the school.

"Alright, good job. Now inside is going to be different. It'll be dark and we don't know the layout. We stay in formation, move slowly, trust nothing. Remember the Walkers in the shopping center? They might look dead, but just to be sure, hit the brain." That was a particularly awful memory. Just days after they'd fled the mountain they'd taken shelter in a small shopping center at the edge of the New York state line and there had been geeks lying seemingly dead near the walls or just randomly strewn over the floor. They'd brought all of their supplies inside and had just settled down to sleep when the corpses they'd thought had been dead had worked some kind of energy back into their limbs and started dragging themselves towards them. They'd had to scramble to defend themselves, several of them, including Fox, having very close calls. Fox of course had played it off lightly, but Daryl hadn't been swayed. She'd come very close to being bitten that night, and never in his life had Daryl had such a sharp kick of fear and rage that she'd been put in danger. He forced himself to come back into the present moment and focus on the task at hand.

They all nodded and then followed Rick up the stairs. He cautiously pressed his shoulder against the glass, trying to peer inside but the darkness prohibited their sight. He nodded to Glenn who raised his pistol up and shot the lock up at the top of the door that held it shut and Rick pushed one door open and held his machete out firmly while the others swept in behind them. Glenn holstered his gun and used the piece of chain and metal clips they'd fashioned to hold the doors shut behind them before pulling out his own blade. Rick had already shuffled a few paces inside and everyone held their breath, listening for that tell tale sign of hissing growls and stumbling feet. At first they heard nothing and Rick pulled his flashlight free of his belt and clicked it on, sweeping the edges of the hall with the beam of light. There were no corpses so far and so they cautiously moved forward, staying together, all of them lightly bumping shoulders and arms as they did so. The quick touch of body heat was reassuring in more ways than one, not just as something between you and the Walkers, but also as an affirmation of their bond. They were together, still alive, and they could keep going. It was small, but powerful, and Fox knew that they all felt it.

They came to a large pinwheel type intersection, three halls leading in three different directions. Rick swept his light down each one and they could see there were blood stains and debris on the floor and the walls down each one, and to the one in front of them there were corpses lined up against the wall.

"Go." Rick hissed.

The swept down the forward facing hall, stabbing and slashing as quietly as they could, picking off the Walkers that might have already been dead, but they couldn't afford not to be sure. When they reached the end of the hall, there was another turn to the left and a staircase that led to the second floor the group immediately tensed as towards the left hall they heard the distinctive hiss growl of their enemy. Rick swept the light into the crowd and saw a head count of roughly a dozen tightly packed geeks.

"Back, go back!" he hissed and immediately the group shuffled in the opposite direction, still facing forward. Fox edged out in front next to Rick and as soon as a corpse showed itself around the corner she launched a throwing knife and took it down. Another stepped over the fallen body to take its place and Rick lunged forward to strike it with the machete before instantly retreating.

"Fan out!" he barked. Daryl came up on his other side and they spread as much as the narrow hall would allow. Fox edged out further onto her own, swiping and stabbing with her blades, Rick doing the same. Glenn and Maggie flanked Fox as she kept the Walkers at bay with her throwing knives on the one side, the couple picking off strays that got through. They'd just finished killing the dozen that Rick had originally counted when Carol yelped with fear.

They all spun to see another hissing mob, this one at least two dozen strong. Carol struck one with her crowbar but Daryl lunged and grabbed her roughly by the upper arm and dragged her back before another one crawling on its belly could grab her by the ankle and take a chunk out of her. A flash of pain stabbed through him as he'd used his damaged hand to pull her back but it was well worth it to make sure she was alright. She squeaked with surprise but nodded to him gratefully as they spun to face their new threat.

"Rick!" Maggie panted. From the staircase there were more corpses shuffling down the concrete steps, bone hands stretching out to reach for them over the metal railing as they snarled and staggered.

"Move, down the hall!" he ordered. They moved forward, keeping a tight formation, picking their way over the blood slickened floor and bodies before fanning out again. The fresh horde came at them, spilling from both the hall and the stairwell to hone in on them like ravenous wolves.

"There's too many!" Carol cried shrilly as Rick smashed in another skull but the horde was forcing them back further and further.

"We can take them!" Andrea yelled as she broke a Walker's head with the blade of her ax. "We just need more space." They were still shuffling back, striking at the Walkers who got too close, but there was a seemingly never ending mob pushing against them.

"The cafeteria. It's got to be around here somewhere, they'll be room there." Fox panted. She shoved her knife through the roof of a Walker's mouth, the blade coming through the back of the skull before she kicked the body away.

They continued to be pushed back, killing Walkers as they went but they eventually ended up back in the intersection they'd originally started from. Fox swung her eyes back and forth down the hall, trying to remember if she'd seen a back door which might lead to a service entrance or kitchen that would be connected to the cafeteria.

"This way!" she barked, leading them towards the right just as the horde began to close in again. She swung her blade and whacked off another head that was a shade too close for her liking before pulling the group down the new hall. They followed, feet shuffling quickly, sticking to the middle of the hall because they hadn't had the chance to sweep the edges.

"Move, move, move!" Glenn yelped when he saw there were bodies strewn over the floor and some of them were beginning to twitch and rise up.

They smashed and slashed heads as they went, moving as quickly as they could, picking their way through until Fox swung down the turn and found a set of double doors. This had to be the cafeteria. Carol was right behind her and cracked the window with her crowbar and then fumbled inside the opening to get at the lock for the door. She managed to flip it open and jerk her hand out just as the group pushed the double doors open and scurried inside.

"Back up!" Rick ordered just as the Walkers shambled through, kicking and clawing, snarling viciously.

Fox let out a wordless cry as she struck one in the head with her blade, the metal biting so deep it shaved off most of the creature's face before coming free. She danced back as blood spattered her arms and slicked the tile underneath her boots. Vicious exhilaration whirled through her and she struck again and again and again, lopping off heads and cutting through rotting brains all while the rest of the group did the same. They were forced backwards in the cavern that was indeed the cafeteria and they all weaved through the tables and hopped up onto benches as the undead army pursued them relentlessly. Fox and Daryl culled a large group and made short work of them before returning to the main area and hacked away at more skulls.

"Rick duck!" Daryl yelled as he took aim with his crossbow and fired just as Rick dove down, an oncoming geek about to tear a chunk out of the back of his neck as he wrestled with one in front of him.

"Hah!" Fox howled as she spliced another Walker clean in two, drawing a scissoring motion across the corpse's skull as she jumped down from a table. She landed on her feet, spun, and whacked another creature's head clean off, sending it flying. Glenn actually bounced the head off his knee and then kicked it as hard as he could, sending it splattering against a wall where it came to rest. Fox laughed her approval and then surveyed the scene.

The Walkers were dead and the group was standing amongst the carnage looking around each other with approving looks. Rick wiped some of the sweat and blood off of his brow and nodded to them.

"Good job. Let's clear the last hall and then all that's left is upstairs." Rick said as he readjusted the machete in his hand. Daryl retrieved his arrow and loaded the bolt back into the crossbow.

The rest of the school was mostly short work. Most of the classrooms were locked and whether there were any geeks inside or not they weren't getting out any time soon. When the last Walker they found lay dead for the second time they all hurried back out and jogged back down the gravel path to find Carl still perched on the roof of the car.

"How is she?" Rick panted as soon as they were at the vehicles.

"Contractions are still ten minutes apart, but the pain is increasing. Won't be long I don't think." Benjamin said as he turned to face the oncoming people. "Jesus Christ how many were there?" he asked, noting the blood and gore spattered group.

"Enough. Come on, we need to get her inside." Rick ordered. Daryl and Fox were already gunning the bike forward and the rest of the group followed. They pulled the vehicles all the way to the steps of the school after locking the front gate. Rick and Benjamin helped to support Lori as they guided her over the mess of bodies and into the cafeteria. Carl was carrying the rolled up bundle of the air mattress that she'd been using because otherwise the pain in her back became unbearable and as soon as they were inside and the cafeteria door was shut he unfolded it and started working the pump to get it inflated. Lori's face was screwed up in pain as her fingers tightened into Rick's shoulder with a bruising grip.

"Hang on Lori, it's gonna be ok." Rick murmured, gently pressing his lips to his wife's cheek. Daryl's heart fluttered in a strange way. Whether it was instinct or automatic or he'd decided to come around, Rick finally addressed his wife for the first time maybe since they'd left the mountains. Fox approached him, sheathing her knives and watching the situation unfold with carefully guarded eyes.

Soon as the air mattress was ready, Rick and Benjamin worked to lower Lori down. She winced and arched her neck as another wave of pain hit her. She sucked in a shaking breath and Benjamin was already digging through his duffle that had all of the basic supplies.

"Shh, it's gonna be ok, breathe, remember how they taught you with Carl." Rick murmured, cupping his wife's cheek and entwining their fingers. Lori nodded, struggling to draw her breath normally even as Benjamin worked to get her pants off. Daryl and the rest of the group pulled away to give them as much privacy as they could, the hunter keeping an eye on Carl who was struggling to turn away.

"Hey. It's gonna be ok." He told the kid with a firm nod.

"I just don't want to listen to her scream all night. That's what Dad said happened when she had me before she went under the knife." He explained. His young face was twisted into a ravaged expression of pain and Daryl's heart hurt for the kid. No matter what Lori had done with Shane that was still his mother, and Daryl understood that there would always be a bond there. He had misgivings about his own mother, but in the end he still loved her and wished she hadn't burned to a crisp all those years ago.

"Benjy's doing everything he can." Carol murmured, coming up and putting her hand on the boy's shoulder. Carl nodded but Daryl could still see the worry written all over his face.

The hours passed and every so often, almost like clockwork, pained cries rose like banshee screeches, rattling around their cinderblock safe house. Benjamin huffed orders in his thickly accented voice and Rick echoed him in softer more worried tones. Daryl had his back against the wall, one of the tables in the way blocking his view of the scene, his knees raised and his elbows leaning on them as he tried block out the high pitched cries. Every time Lori cried out Carl would seize and twitch, rocking back and forth uncomfortably. Carol kept him at his side, but Daryl could see him shaking.

"She's been at it for hours." Fox murmured softly from where she sat next to Daryl. "Something's not right."

Daryl's stomach knotted up. He had figured as much but hadn't wanted to be the one to say something.

"Things like this happen." Carol said calmly from where she had Carl tucked up against her side. "When I had Sophia I was in labor for well over twelve hours."

Andrea nodded in agreement. "When my mom had Amy it took almost two days."

Fox fiddled with the sleeve of her jacket as she met their eyes. "When my mom had me and Cherie we both came in less than an hour after her water broke." Another heart stopping shriek went up and Carl shivered visibly. Fox dug her fingers into the floor, her nails scraping the dirty linoleum.

"Carl!" Benjamin yelled suddenly. The boy jerked away from Carol's grip and scrambled up to his feet and went running towards the little bubble of light created by the lanterns that Benjamin had set up to give him light to see. Daryl also got up and followed at a further distance and what he saw made his stomach churn.

Lori was still on her back, her body completely slicked in sweat, blood pooling underneath her hips, her face screwed up in agony. Rick was beside her, squeezing her hand, and Benjamin was digging in his bag.

"The baby won't live unless we go by C-section. Lori, I need you to stay calm, you can't go into shock, you're gonna be fine, ok, just hang on." The medic panted as he dug out his scalpels but if Lori heard him it didn't phase her one bit.

"Carl…" she panted, fumbling desperately for her son. "Carl, you take care of your little brother or sister. You look out for them and keep them safe. Stay strong, don't ever let this world turn you into something you're not. You're mine and your father's son, and you are strong, and you are so much braver and better than anything this world can throw at you. You have to stay that way. Take care of your daddy. I love you so much. So much." She clutched Carl by the arm and pulled him close to her in a half, awkward embrace. Tears were streaming down Carl's face and then Benjamin noticed Daryl staring at the unfolding disaster. Rick was folded over Lori as well, shaking and sweating and fumbling over his words to soft and low for Daryl to hear but Carl must have because he openly sobbed and shook like a leaf in a hurricane.

"Lori brace yourself." Benjamin warned, and then sliced her belly with a glinting metal scalpel. She screamed her loudest most blood-curdling howl yet, her body arching up. Rick instinctively forced her back down as Benjamin continued to draw the knife across her skin. Blood bloomed like a scarlet river against the pale flesh. He dropped the knife and it clattered to the floor beside him while he pried apart the incision. Lori screamed, blood bubbling up from the cut and gushing down her sides as Benjamin's hand slid inside her womb, searching for the life that was killing its mother. Daryl felt almost numb…frozen…unable to move as he struggled to comprehend what he was seeing. His vision slipped and everything became a hazy blur of black and red.

"Daryl! Daryl, take the baby!"

Benjamin's voice barked at him, shaking him from his stupor like a slap to the face. He shook himself and loosened his hands as he walked forward and Benjamin turned to him with a bloody bundle in his arms tucked into a dark blue blanket. Awkwardly Daryl took the baby from him and cradled the wriggling bundle of flesh against his chest, already beginning to cough and then cry in earnest.

"Lori!" Rick wailed as Benjamin hauled the man away to get at her chest to try CPR on her. The medic pounded away with full force trying to bring her back but her eyes were closed and Daryl knew instinctively that it was too late. There was a sea of blood spilling down the sides of the mattress from the gaping wound in her belly. Carl was staggered against the wall, watching the unfolding horror, tears streaked down his face.

"Rick let go!" Benjamin panted as he pulled against Rick's shoulders who by now had fought the smaller man off and was pushing on his wife's chest in a vain attempt to revive her. At that moment Fox and Carol had run up to see what was happening and they both took in the scene with devastation and pain written across their faces. Daryl held the struggling baby in his arms wishing like hell he could do something, anything, to relieve the pain but it was just pure and simply bleeding into the air like Rick's wordless howls of misery.

"Take the baby." Daryl murmured to Carol whom almost gratefully accepted the wiggling bundle and then retreated with Andrea but Fox stayed at Daryl's side as the man came up behind Rick and put his hand on his shoulder even as he continued pounding away at Lori's chest.

"Rick…she's gone. You have to put her down or she'll come back." Daryl said. Every letter was like shards of glass in his throat.

"No!" Rick snarled, aggression and desperation crystalizing together in the single word.

"Rick! Rick she's gone! You don't know how long you have, she could bite you!" Fox pressed. She tried to haul him away forcibly and Rick lunged to push her away but Fox jumped back out of his reach before he could do so. Daryl shoved his way in between the two and hauled Rick back forcibly, shoving against his chest, forcing him inch by inch away from Lori.

"She's gone! Rick! She's gone, there's nothing you can do!" Daryl huffed as he pushed against Rick who was fighting like a wild animal. "Brother, stop!"

Rick screamed like an enraged tomcat and tore at Daryl with clawed fingers, kicking and shoving as hard as he could but Daryl held him back by the skin of his teeth. He didn't know how much longer he could keep it up and just when Rick had almost broken free of his hold there was a single, muted gunshot.

Daryl loosed his hold on Rick who slipped in his twisted footing and fell to the floor. Daryl turned and with a sickened, twisted feeling in his gut saw Carl at his mother's side, gun in hand, face a steely mask of barely contained destruction. The tears ceased to fall, merely their tracks glistened on his cheeks, his young face aging a thousand lifetimes as he took in what he had done; a single neat gunshot wound in his mother's temple.

Rick was up on his feet and now staring at his son's face, the boy's expression somewhere between despair and agony behind a veneer of steel indifference. Rick sucked in a shaking breath and tried to choke his son's name but Carl said nothing. He held his gun tightly and got up to his feet and stormed out, kicking open the door to the cafeteria and disappearing. Carol tried to follow but Glenn put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Rick looked down at his wife's mangled body and something in him seemed to crack. He took steps to try and follow Carl but he only made it halfway before the strength in his legs gave out. He collapsed to the ground and sobbed, rolling onto his side, deep throated shaking moans of pure and unabated pain coming from him.

"Carol, let me see the baby." Benjamin panted as he got up off his knees beside Lori's body. He grabbed one of the lanterns and his bag and set both on the nearest table while Carol carefully laid the baby down and Daryl shadowed both of them as Benjamin checked the vital signs.

"She looks healthy. Everything seems normal." Benjamin said after he pulled his stethoscope out of his ears and wrapped it around his neck. "But she needs formula, soon, or she won't live for long."

"I'm on it." Daryl said, setting his crossbow down next to the wall and then went to dig through their pile of supplies that they had left close to the door. They'd managed to find a few cans of formula in some supply runs during the winter before Rick had stopped allowing runs into town and they'd stashed them away in one of the grab bags but the more Daryl dug the more frustration set in. He wasn't finding it.

"Where the hell is it?" he growled as he started upending bags one by one, picking through their spilled contents and not finding the formula.

"Are you serious?" Andrea asked getting down on her knees next to Daryl to help him look. She dug through the other bags, pulling everything out and then smacked her hand against the floor. "Damn it. I helped Lori pack a bag specifically for what the baby would need but she must not have grabbed it when we left the mountains. She must have only grabbed the emergency bag when we pulled out."

Daryl cursed a line that would have made a sailor squirm and kicked some random object and sent it flying into the door. "Fuck it. I'm going on a run, we ain't losing anybody else, damn sure not losing her."

"I'll back you up." Glenn volunteered.

"Me too." Maggie said.

Daryl nodded. "Alright lets go. We've lost the light but I ain't waiting until morning. Get your stuff, head for the vehicles." He ordered. He turned to Fox and Andrea who were standing near Carol almost guarding her just in case Rick lost his mind and tried to attack either her or the baby.

"You guys need to keep an eye on Rick. I don't know what he might do when he gets up…use some force on him if you have to. Benjy's got something in his bag that should knock him out, use it if you have to. He'll calm down eventually but for right now, keep him away from the baby."

They both nodded and Andrea turned to go to Carol while Fox grabbed Daryl by the hand.

"You ok?" she asked. She had kept her distance while Lori was dying, knowing it wasn't her place to get in the way but now Daryl seemed shaken.

He nodded, some of the edginess working out of his face and being replaced with determination. "I'm fine. Just keep an eye on Rick. Don't let him do anything he'll regret. I'll be back soon."

She kissed him gently on the cheek and he pulled away, jogging towards where Maggie and Glenn were waiting at the cafeteria door.

"You guys remember seeing any place we could try for formula?" Daryl asked as they made their way through the school's halls towards the front door, picking there way over bodies and then down the steps into the cold night air heading straight for Maggie's car.

"About ten miles back I saw an exit for the interstate, there's bound to be a grocery store or something around there." Glenn said as they all piled into the car, Daryl in the driver's seat. Maggie handed him the keys and he fired up the engine, de-thawing the windshield as he did so.

"Yeah and Walkers everywhere." Maggie muttered as she twisted from the front seat to look at Glenn.

"We don't have time to be picky. We're armed, we got this." Daryl muttered. As soon as he could see, he threw the car into gear and wheeled it around back towards the gate. Glenn jumped out and pulled the gate open and quickly shut it behind him after Daryl drove the car through, snapping the chain back into place before scrambling back in.

Glenn gave them directions and with Maggie using the map in the glove compartment they were able to navigate their way towards the exit off the interstate. As per usual there were hotels, restaurants, and a mall, but in the same large parking lot they saw a Babies'R'Us. They all smiled as soon as they saw it and Daryl jumped the car over the median to get to the clearer side of the road and gunned the engine. They pulled into the parking lot and then killed the lights, cautiously opening the doors. There were Walkers staggering around the lot but the cold had definitely stiffened them. They shut the doors and hurriedly scurried between cars towards the building. The lights had long since burnt out but the door was clean and they quickly shoved their way inside.

"Flashlights." Daryl murmured, flicking his own on as Glenn and Maggie did the same, holding their breath as they waited to hear the hissing growls of Walkers. When there was nothing they crept forward, turning their lights up to the ceiling to try and find the isles they needed.

"This way." Glenn spoke softly, leading them past the registers and deeper into the store, picking his way over spilled debris.

"Fan out. Get everything your bag can hold." Daryl said with a sharp nod.

They spread through the isles, Daryl grabbing up clothes in varying sizes knowing that she'd go through him within weeks. He was on his way to meet back up with Maggie and Glenn on another isle when he turned the corner and saw a huge array of stuffed toys and dolls, one of them reminding him very much of Sophia's doll. He paused for a moment before taking it off the shelf and tucked it into his bag, along with a fuzzy stuffed dog and then closed the zipper on his bag. He shouldered the bag quickly and then went to find Maggie and Glenn.

"How much did you find?" Daryl asked when he found Glenn bent over the bag on the floor, struggling with the zipper.

"Six months worth at least." Glenn panted. Daryl came over and helped him redistribute the cans of formula so everything would fit. They went back around to another isle and found Maggie stuffing her bag with disposable diapers, wipes, and blankets. When her bag was full to the brim she nodded to them and they headed towards the front of the store.

"I can't believe this was here. We got damn lucky." Glenn panted as moved through the registers and towards the door.

"We got luckier in that the stuff was still here." Daryl muttered as he readjusted the bag on his shoulders. They were about to walk out when Maggie seized. Daryl looked up and saw with dismay a horde of Walkers marching like an army straight for them, blocking the access to the car.

"Get back, go back!" Daryl hissed just as the horde turned and began to kick their way through the glass and into the store.


	35. Chapter 35

**_Well ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again. Oh man, Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead...MAN OH MAN OH MAN THE FEELS! Ahhhh! Ok, I shall contain myself. Somehow. THE FEEEEEEEELS! Alright, I'm done. I think..._**

**WinterIsComing1015**:_ Speaking of the Judas video, I would just like to let it be known, henceforth, forevermore, on this the nineteenth day of February in the year of Lord two thousand thirteen, that Norman Reedus can pour beer all over my ass any time he wants to. Any. Time. He. Wants. That is all. Oh, man. You know, I don't OFTEN tear up at shows or stories but this scene in particular, in the show, made me bawl. Definitely Andy Lincoln's finest performance on the show if you ask me. The look on his face when he saw Maggie emerge from the prison holding the baby, and the way he stuttered out "Where is she?" and then his nonverbal (not nonVOCAL) interaction with Carl...oh, Lord. Too many feels for sure. This echoed that, and I'm GLAD that he got to be with her in your version. I know that it worked for the show's storyline but I HATED the fact that he didn't get to be with her. So thanks for that much! And aw...Daryl picking out stuffies for the behbeh! How sweet :-) AAAAAND then a Walker attack. Awesome. Your stories aren't good for my heart!_

Hell Yes. I absolutely agree. Norman, if you EVER see this, you have my permission to pour beer all over me any time you want, you don't even have to ask first. ;) Oh God, yes, I BAWLED SO HARD when Lori died in the show. Not that I was ever a huge fan of her character, but THE FREAKING FEELS MAN, and then of course the aftermath with Carl and especially Rick. SO MANY DAMN FEELS! Crushing. I knew right from the off that I wanted Lori and Rick to be together in that last moment because I think that will help him have some kind of closure and maybe stave off the trip to the funny farm so to speak. And yes of course, in fact I believe he did the same in the show, I noticed something soft and fluffy tucked in his belt and then when he was holding her after they got back to the prison it was in his arms next to her. He luffs that baby, waaay more than he lets on. And then, yes, of course, because this is the Walking Dead…dun dun dun…WALKERS!

**Saphireblu987**: _Oh my gosh! They just can't win! Haha. I really thought Lori was going to pull through. Booooo! Lol. I have a feeling that things are going to get a bit more dicey... I love it! Keep up the good work. This is perfect. Soooooooo perfect. Thanks again for feeding the greed!:)_

They really can't. They are trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, and they're still trying to get their barings. Things are about to get /very/ dicey, I'm so looking forward to bringing it on ;)

**Emberka-2012**: _Terrible situation. I was hoping that Lori will remain alive._

It is terrible, but women who have had C-sections once are likely to have to go the same route, and without modern medicine, the chances are very poor that the mother would survive.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _I love the roller coaster this story is taking us on! You are so talented and I love all the elements you add to the Walking Dead! I also really like how you described Rick's break down. I can picture it perfectly. Amazing job as always and I cannot wait for the next chapter!_

It truly is a roller coaster as much for me as it is for all of you guys =) And poor Rick, he really is struggling hard, and I wanted his break down in my story to be somewhat different than that on the show, and you'll get to see more of that in this chapter.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Oh poor Lori :( Damn you just keep killing people left and right :'( Good that they made it to the school, at least they have a roof over their heads. Oh no! Damn walkers, i hope they make it out safe. Cliffhanger, Update Soon!_

I know, so many people have gotten the ax, and no day is getting any easier for them. For now most of the group is safe, but Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn have a very tough fight ahead of them.

**Emerald Gaze**:_ what a convenient babies'r'us! as for lori i was wandering if you'd still kill her off but i have to admit that i hadn't even considered that carl would still be the one to do it, though he is the only one that rick wouldn't kill for shooting her sooo... yeah. and your explanation for how they developed their formations was nice finding a school and saying it reminds fox of a prison was a nice touch though i have to say considering that the windows were borded i thought they'd end up finding someone in there... though there are still a lot of unchecked classrooms. oh and let's not forget the cafeteria's kitchen there should be some kind of food in there though most of it is probably bad oh and fox saying she 'resembled that remark' rather than resented it was also pretty funny i know benjy saved the strong drugs for lori but it didn't sound like he gave them to her? one last thing: there are a few misspellings like once you wrote carl instead of carol and another time u said carol used her crossbow rather than crowbar!_

I always see those types of stores in the weirdest places which is what made me think of it. Its like a speciality shop in a small town and I'm thinking 'whyyyy would they build that there?' I wrote the scene for the circumstances to allow for Carl to still be the one to pull the trigger, because Rick just couldn't, and it was really Carl's moment to turn from being a child into something like an adult, but without the emotional capacity to handle such a role. The idea of the school came from my old town's main high-school, that had actually been constructed to be a prison, but then was used as a school, which completely freaked me out when I went there to take my SATs (I was home schooled most of my life) Aye, Benjy didn't want to give her the strong drugs, fearing they might shut down her respiratory system, they hadn't had enough to eat or drink for the past 2 weeks, and not enough sleep, which can really take a toll on the body physically, plus being pregnant on top of that, its a dangerous combo to be adding powerful sedatives and pain killers to. I'm not surprised there were some typos, I wrote that battle scene really really quickly, just hammering it out cause I was on a roll, and when I went back to edit, I was also moving fast, plus I have no beta so no fresh eyes to see it before it gets sent to you guys.

**Kaleiburzz**:_ Holy shit. Holyshitholyshitholyshit. Please don't kill Maggie or Glenn or especially Daryl! Please please please don't! But god damn that was a good chapter! I loved Fox "yowling" when animalistic glee as she began the slaughter. Glenn drop kicking the shit out of the walker was pretty badass too. I really love how you've made Carol useful. She's not just cowering in the cars anymore. I like how you still kept it being Carl to put Lori down, but how he did it on his own, and then he stormed of. That was the shit. Updatesoonupdatesooupdatesoo n!_

I got to have fun writing that battle scene. Those are always awesome to write, especially when I have good music backing them up. I get into a hurry of movement and just go, go, go until the action finally stops. And of course, I had to throw a little humor in there, and I wanted to give Glenn a little bad-ass moment cause I luff him. I definitely do want Carol to be useful, to have a sense of purpose and strength and some confidence in her abilities. I mean she'll probably never be as handy in a fight as someone like Daryl, Fox, or Rick, but I want there to be a fight in her that she can use to her advantage when it counts. Yes, Carl definitely did storm out…partly because he was having a hard time dealing with it all (and can you blame him) but partly because he felt…almost betrayed…in a sense. Betrayed in that sense that his father wasn't strong enough to do what had to be done, and so it fell to him. It was really the turning point for Carl. He's not a kid anymore, and it really is quite tragic.

**sage62442**:_ Cliffhanger?! Really?! Grrr. Well, great chapter! So much action! And you made Lori's death sad... I laughed when she died in the show... will Rick go crazy and do stuff... things... and what if Rick kills Benjy because he basically killed Lori? What if Carl goes crazy because he shot his mom? What if Maggie or Glenn dies? What if they never get out? What if...? What if...?_

Of course cliffhanger! Do you not know me by now!? Lol, just kidding. Good, I'm glad Lori's death was sad here, I mean I friggin bawled in the show when it happened and I was worried I hadn't made it dramatic/gut wrenching enough actually. You bring up so many awesome what-ifs, well, you shall just have to wait and see!

* * *

"Should we go to him?" Carol asked softly from where she was sitting at one of the tables holding the baby to her chest, rocking her slowly back and forth, trying her best to soothe her incessant crying. By now it had come down from piercing shrieks to quieter but more persistent stressed breaths, demanding someone find a solution to her hunger.

Fox was leaning up against a wall, one booted foot pressed against it as she looked over to where Rick was sitting by Lori's body from where he hadn't moved since he'd picked himself up and crawled over there hours ago.

"No." Andrea murmured. "Let him be. He'll come through when he's ready."

Fox bent her head down letting her hair fall around her face before sucking in a deep breath. This probably wasn't going to go over well. Too bad. She moved off from the wall and turned to Andrea.

"Someone needs to find Carl. And we need to move Lori's body. The kid isn't going to come back in here otherwise."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Benjamin muttered from where he was sitting by the floor, still covered in blood up to his elbows, his blonde hair falling around his face in frizzy mess.

"Well I'm not waiting around. I'll talk to Rick. The shovels are in the Jeep. Andrea, could you at least look for Carl?" Fox asked after standing up straight from the wall. She met the blonde woman's eyes for a long moment.

"Fox…I really wouldn't." Andrea warned as the redhead moved to go towards Rick. "He's…there's no telling what he might do." Fox saw the depth of experience in her eyes and had a brief flashback to that horrible day at the quarry when several members of the group had been eaten, and Andrea had shot at Fox for trying to pull her away from Amy.

"I have to try. He'll never let us bury her otherwise." Fox said firmly. "Find Carl. He shouldn't be alone."

Andrea approached Fox slowly, and it was almost as if they were sizing each other up but there was less tension there than the positions would have suggested. Both women held a certain amount of respect for each other for different reasons. Andrea admired Fox's relentless tenacity, even to the point of recklessness, to do what she thought was right, and Fox respected the older woman's desire to fight for what she loved, even if she made mistakes about what those things were.

"Be careful." Andrea said quietly before stepping back from Fox. The redhead nodded the same to her and they parted ways, Andrea leaving the cafeteria and Fox carefully approaching Rick. The lanterns were still burning, illuminating the bloody mess that Lori's body lay in, along with Rick's still as stone frame. Fox got down on his level, sliding towards him and stopping about a foot away from where he sat.

"Rick. Can you hear me?" she asked quietly. When the man didn't respond, didn't so much as twitch, Fox leaned on her cross legged knees towards him. "Rick, you can talk to me. It's ok." Still nothing. Fox's heart beat faster in her chest and a thrum of worry moved through her. She dared to come a little bit closer.

"Rick you have to let us bury her. She needs it. Carl doesn't need to see his mother like this." She whispered.

Still nothing, it was as she wasn't even there. Fox dared to slide a little bit closer and she very cautiously reached to touch Rick's hand which was resting on the floor at his side.

The instant their skin met Rick jolted. He whirled on her and lunged his second hand up and struck her with the heel of his hand in her previously wounded shoulder, sending her to her flying back. Rick pounced but not before Fox bowed her legs in and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him sprawling over Lori's body and then off, knocking over one of the lanterns, stuttering its light into darkness.

Fox lunged down and grabbed Rick by the collar of his shirt and shoved him up into the wall. He struck at her again but she ducked and smashed her foot against his, briefly crippling him long enough for her to pin her arm over his throat, enough to cut off his air supply.

"Rick, you're going to come outside with me, and we are going to talk about this."

He wordlessly struggled, kicking and clawing at her arm but she restrained him as much as she could. His eyes had lost all semblance of humanity, there was nothing there but animalistic rage and an empty hollowness that reflected how much of a chunk had just been torn out of his soul and destroyed. He fought against the hold she had on his throat but then she pulled her stiletto out of his holster and pressed it under his jaw, one hand fisting into his hair as she lifted her arm off his throat. Until he lost that animal light in his eye she would treat him as a dangerous threat. Push and pull, not subject to human logic. She was good at that.

"Come. Now." She growled, tugging on his hair, keeping the stiletto against his throat. She led him with a hand in the back towards the back door of the cafeteria, kicking it open and guiding him out into the cold darkness of the night, thrusting him forward so hard that he stumbled over his own feet before regaining his balance. She didn't sheathe the knife but she did shut the door behind her.

"You have no right!" He growled, forcing the words through gritted teeth, and in that one moment he sounded as though he truly hated her and would kill her if he had the chance. She didn't intend to give him that chance.

"And you're going to take that away from your son? From the rest of us?" Fox argued back. "She deserves to be buried! She needs it, Rick. You need it!"

"She is mine! She belongs to me! I decide what happens to her!" Rick snarled.

"Rick she's dead!" Fox called back as they paced around and around each other like wild dogs squaring up for a duel. "She's gone. The only thing left now is to do right by her."

"You…you should have let me kill him." Rick spoke low and coldly, ice chipping every syllable as he picked his head up and stared straight into Fox's eyes. Fox didn't have to be told what he meant. That baby was Shane's daughter, not his, and had it not been for him, Lori might still be alive, and now that she wasn't, Rick was looking for anybody to blame, anybody to take the rage out on, anybody but himself, because it would completely annihilate him otherwise.

Fox pulled out one of her kukri blades. Rick eyed her very cautiously, his eyes full of wariness and mistrust.

"Get your machete out. Go on. Do it." Fox growled.

Rick did so, unsheathing the blade from where it was strapped to his leg. He held it in his bloody fist firmly and stared at her even as they continued pacing around and around.

"Fight with me. You give me everything you can't take. I swear to you that you won't lay another hand on me. And when this is over, you'll have worked through the rage and you'll come back inside, and you'll let us bury her. You'll be there for Carl and for the baby. For us. For what Lori would have wanted you to do."

"This changes nothing! You're not him!" Rick snarled.

Fox snickered dangerously, coming close to him, her green eyes flashing like evil jewels in the darkness. "Try me." She hissed, lilting her voice with a thick Southern drawl she normally didn't have, her husky voice dropping to an even lower tone. "Try it, Rick. Give me your best shot." She goaded. That was all it took.

He lunged at her wildly, swinging the machete with so much force that she knew if she had tried to take the blow it might have been the death of her. She leapt back and he struck the blade directly into the grass and she danced back from him. He swung at her again and this time she struck back, guarding his blade with her own. She pushed back on him, forcing him back, striking hard and fast, forcing him to parry the blows roughly. He turned the tables, spinning hard and using the momentum, striking at her, swiping the blade towards her legs to try and send her off balance. She leapt back and on the rebound shoved her shoulder into Rick's gut, shoving him backwards so hard that he overbalanced and toppled to the ground.

"Get up, Rick! Fight for it!" she crowed. "Fight for it!"

He snarled like an animal and flung himself at her. Back and forth they struck blades, parrying each other move for move, swinging and snapping and dancing, closing and coming apart again and again, the moonlight burning like silver ice across their skin as their breath fogged like billows of steam. After an intense round they both skittered back from each other, gasping for breath, limbs shaking.

"Had enough?" Fox drawled again, standing upright and casually pacing in front of Rick, baiting him into striking at her. She had to wear him down, she had to slake that bloodlust in him and she was the only one here strong enough to do it. A gun stand off wasn't going to be enough. It had to be physical, blow for blow, pounding each other into the pavement until he finally cracked. She could see the growing rage and desperation on his face as sweat glistened on his skin, mixing with blood and trickling down his face, washing him in red which made his skin look black in the moonlight. He truly looked inhuman as she turned to face him again. He had the high ground now but she had maneuvered him exactly where she wanted him. All it would take would be a little more. She'd be a liar if she said she wasn't afraid. She was. One miss step and he could kill her, and by the time he controlled himself it would be too late. She took a deep breath in and readied herself.

"Come on, Rick. Fight for it." She hissed.

He yowled and came at her, swinging the machete as hard as he could. She parried the blow with her kukri knife and swung it harmlessly away. She struck Rick in the wrist with the handle of her knife, causing him to drop the weapon. His other hand came up and bit into the meat of her injured shoulder, causing her to cry out but she didn't let it distract her. The force of his momentum was so much that he flung her to the ground but she fisted her hand into his collar and took him with her. They rolled hard on the icy hill, smashing into the grass, Fox dropping her blade as she did so and continuing to roll with him until they were on their last tumble and she flung him over her and then pinned him to the ground, landing directly on his chest, wrestling and scrambling for his wrists, shoving them back. His body bucked like an alligator being wrestled into submission but she hung on. She hung on for everything she was worth but when he managed to tear out of her grip she flung herself back to avoid the fist that was flying towards her face. He tackled her and held her down and immediately her knees came up going for a shot straight to the groin but he twisted away.

"Now what? Now what you gonna do?" Rick growled, shoving himself down against her. Fox bucked hard, struggling to get her feet under her, but he tangled his legs into hers to stop her. She lunged her head up and sank her teeth into his neck and bit down as hard as she could. Rick cried out with a horrendous amount of pain as she bit him, copper blooming on her tongue, blood smearing against her lips and chin as she tore free. Rick rolled off of her and clutched his hand to the wound which was bleeding much more than she had intended to cause, but it had to be done.

"It's not your fault, Rick." She panted dropping the drawl in her voice as he sank into the grass, still holding his hand to the wound. She didn't expect him to launch himself at her and throw her to the ground again but as soon as her back hit the ground she was ready. She drove her fist directly into his side, punching her knuckles up underneath his ribs, causing him to give a choked gasp. He tried to tackle her again but he could hardly breathe and so his attack was much easier to fend off. Again and again he came at her and now she was merely staying on the defensive until finally he slid to the ground and collapsed, openly sobbing as his breath came in deep, shuddering gasps.

Fox dropped down to the ground beside him and leaned her face into his shoulder, her own body shaking with the force of their fight. Her breath came in heavy, ragged pants, feeling Rick shaking as he ground the palms of his hands into his eyes as if physically trying to stem the tears. He spoke wordlessly, muted sounds of despair and Fox just leaned against him.

"It's over now." She whispered into him. "It's over."

"I can't…I can't go back in there…I can't, not without her…" He cried wordless moans of agony, rocking back and forth, shaking uncontrollably.

"Carl needs you." Fox whispered into him, not forcing him to make eye contact, just having him listen. "The group needs you. Lori needs you, even now. She needs you to be there when she's buried. You need that ending. You need it to be over. I know how badly she hurt you. I know how hard it was the last few weeks, but you love her, I saw it in you. We all did. She knew it too. She died to bring you a daughter, and the baby will need you too Rick. Never mind Shane or the past. Remember what I said when we killed him. It's you who's standing to care for her now that she's born." She put an arm to his back and then twined her fingers through his hair gently, stroking and moving up and down as he continued sobbing.

"I can't…" Rick choked. "I can't see her like that."

Fox nodded into his shoulder gently. "It's ok. We'll take care of her. But you have to be there when we bury her. You don't have to be strong. You don't have to give. You just have to be there."

She stayed with him until his sobbing stopped. She very gingerly touched the wound she'd given him on his neck which made him pull up and look at her.

"After everyone goes to sleep tonight I'll take care of this. Use your coat to hide it in the meantime." She murmured, only now reaching to wipe the blood off her mouth. She needed to rinse the copper taste out of her mouth but it would wait for a little while longer.

"I can't go in there…not yet." Rick said as they both stood up together. "I need some time…I need to figure out what to say to Carl."

Fox nodded. "I understand. You come back when you're ready. We'll take care of Lori. But don't wait too long. That boy needs you, Rick. Now more than ever. He needs to know he did the right thing."

Rick nodded slowly and Fox picked up her kukri knife out of the grass and holstered it. She walked back up the slope and went back into the cafeteria, leaving the door unlocked this time.

"Is everything ok?" Carol asked worriedly as soon as she saw Fox come inside.

"Its ok." Fox murmured. "Rick's ok. He'll come back in soon." She said. Her body was sore now from the heavy beating she'd taken. Even if his blade had never touched her skin, the force behind his blows had been powerful, and she was infinitely glad the fight had ended when it did, otherwise she didn't know if she would have been able to keep going and he might have really done her damage. That had been part of the reason why she'd bitten him, to send that jolt of deep pain through him to throw him off balance just enough for her to get the upper hand. She didn't want to explain to anybody what they had done, what she had done, in order to bring Rick back down. She didn't want to frighten the group with his bloodlust and rage, or her ability to dish it right back just as wildly. Depending on what happened, she might not even tell Daryl.

"Will he let us bury her?" Benjamin asked as Fox went to their bag of supplies and found a bottle of water. She stalked over to one of the sinks behind the long metal table that had one time been used to dish chow for hungry teenagers. She took a swig of the water and swished it through her teeth and spat it back out in the sink to clear her mouth of the taste of copper. She took another swallow and wiped her mouth again.

"Yes." She answered. "We need to wrap her up before him or Andrea and Carl get back."

Carol nodded in agreement. "We can use the sheets we had for the air mattress." She suggested. Fox nodded and went to their bags of supplies, which had been unceremoniously ransacked by Daryl and Andrea as they looked through them for formula. The baby still had yet to stop crying and the sound was starting to wear on Fox's nerves. She gritted her teeth against it and started to reorganize the bags, replacing everything while Carol passed the baby to Benjamin and unfolded the sheet and began to wrap Lori up carefully, the same way that they had done for Dale and Sophia. She and Fox moved her off the air mattress and near one of the boarded up windows and then dragged the blood-soaked mattress out the back door. She was half expecting to see Rick still pacing there but he wasn't. He must have gone around to the front of the yard. They tossed the mattress into the dumpster and went back inside.

"If we stay long term, we can clean the blood up and start moving the bodies out in the morning." Fox said as she finally sat down at the same table with Benjy and Carol even as the baby continued crying. She was really trying to ignore it but was becoming so incessant that she didn't know how much longer she was going to be able to stand it. She had gotten up to start pacing again when Andrea came back through, Carl at her side.

"They're not back yet?" Andrea asked as she holstered her gun and Carl came up to take his little sister off Benjamin's hands, attempting to soothe her although his efforts proved just as futile as everyone else's.

Fox shook her head. She was content to leave it at that but Andrea noticed the change in the room.

"Where's Rick?" she asked.

"Outside. Cooling off." Fox stated. She looked up and met Andrea's eyes and a silent connection passed between them. Maybe not the whole story, but enough that Andrea understood not only that Rick had broken down into a crisis, but that he was also, hopefully, on the uphill side of it now. Fox wouldn't be surprised if he cracked several more times, but she would be there if he did.

The minutes ticked on, Rick didn't come in, and Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn still hadn't returned. Silence turned to worry and Fox began to restlessly pace, moving back and forth. The baby had finally cried herself to an uneasy sleep, every twitch of motion threatening to wake her again. It was that deep part of the night, the part where the shadows are thickest and the night is coldest when they finally heard motion outside the door.

Fox twitched, her hand going instinctively for her knife, but was flooded with relief and release when she saw Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, and Rick come running inside. The three supply runners were all but drenched in blood and Rick still looked haggard, but a little bit more like himself.

"What happened?" Fox asked as she hurriedly went to meet them, pulling Daryl towards her for a brief embrace, not caring he was spattered from head to foot in Walker guts.

"Got caught in a herd just as we were leaving with supplies. Fought through at least a hundred of them sons of bitches." He explained as he quickly let go of Fox's shoulders. He glanced at Rick, who must have been the one to let them through the gate, and a careful measure of each man was taken in a single glance.

"Anybody hurt?" Benjamin asked. Already Carol was digging into Glenn's bag for the formula and Andrea had gone to get fresh water to make up a bottle for the baby.

"No. We're ok." Glenn panted as he set his weapons down and pulled Maggie close for a tight embrace. Clearly whatever had happened they had only just barely gotten out with their lives.

"How's she doing?" Daryl asked as he approached Carl who still had the baby. The boy didn't really answer but passed the now wiggling, crying bundle to the blood spattered hunter. Daryl held her more confidently this time, cradling her in the curve of his arm and chest.

"Shh, hey, hey, it's alright. We got food coming for ya." He soothed, rocking her gently despite her cries. Andrea quickly passed him the freshly made bottle and all it took was some light coaxing before she took the bottle between her lips and began to suckle, her cries finally silenced.

"Aww, you like that." Daryl crooned, still rocking her. "Yeah you do, you little ass kicker." It was only then that he realized everyone except Rick, who had already wandered back out into the hall, was staring at him.

"What?" he asked, pointedly looking at them all. Andrea did her best to contain her laughter, waving one hand as she sat back down on a table and shook her head. Glenn was smiling to himself and Maggie's eyes shined bright as she watched the man cuddle the baby, only minutes before having violently torn skulls open to save himself and his friends as they'd fought for their lives.

"Who knew the redneck Daryl Dixon had such a way with kids." Fox teased lightly, knowing that she was the only one who could get away with it without a very intimidating stare thrown back. As it was Daryl rolled his eyes and continued to nurse the baby, turning slightly to Carl who was also watching intently.

"She got a name yet?" he asked quietly. He seemed to have at least somewhat recovered from the night's previous trauma. Clearly the pain and the scars were still there, but he was on his feet and his voice was steady when he spoke.

"Not yet. But I was thinking…maybe Sophia?" He sounded unsure, glancing quickly at Carol who despite herself let a single tear slip free. Daryl glanced at her too, twitching his lips into a thin but still noticeable smile for her.

"There's Amy too." The boy continued. Andrea smiled sadly at him and even though there was pain, there was a quiet beauty to her expression as well.

"Or Jacqui." He murmured, remembering his mother's bond with the black woman well. When he looked up he caught Maggie's eye. "Beth too." The brunette squeezed Glenn's hand and blinked her eyes, holding back tears.

"Or…Lori…. I dunno." He finished. He pulled his knees up to his chest and then Carol came up and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Come on hon, you need to get some rest." She murmured. She guided him back to where she'd been setting up the sleeping bags.

"I still like little ass kicker." Daryl said firmly, nodding his head as he continued to sway slowly as he let her drain away the bottle. "You done us all a good sucker punch today kiddo." He murmured as he set the now empty bottle down on the table and carefully shifted her to his shoulder and lightly tapped her back in a steady rhythm until she released the gas in her belly. She hiccupped softly against him and then he lowered her back down to his arms and rocked her until her bright blue eyes closed. Maggie retrieved a fresh blanket from one of the bags they had brought back and moved to take the baby from him. Daryl almost seemed sorry to let her go, and he was surprised to find that he missed her steady warmth against his chest as Maggie carefully wrapped her up in the new blanket and took her turn holding her as she slept.

"Is Rick alright? He seemed a little…off." Glenn said tiredly as he sat next to Maggie, watching the way she held the baby, his hip touching hers reassuringly. The kid had fought hard when they'd been trying to get out. It had truly been a blood bath, and he hadn't shown an ounce of cowardice the entire time. He'd come a helluva long way since nearly pissing himself with fear around corners in Atlanta all those months ago.

Fox nodded. "He's gonna be ok. We'll bury Lori in the morning and start working clearing out the bodies. This place could be permanent for us if we worked at it." She said quietly. It was then that she came up to Daryl's side and took him by the hand and met his gaze firmly. There was not a question there, only a deep need that he go with her. Without words he slid up to his feet and made to follow her as she headed for the door of the cafeteria.

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked as she tiredly picked her head up from where she'd been resting it on her knees.

"Gonna walk some stuff off. We'll be back." Daryl muttered, a clear dismissal, and a warning, not to come looking for them. Andrea nodded and then Fox pulled Daryl with her out the door and into the hall. She led them several yards past the door before she really hugged him hard, burying her nose into his chest and neck, inhaling deep his smell of musk, sweat, and blood, not caring he was filthy and almost shaking with exhaustion.

"I'm glad your back." She breathed against him, her fingers tightening on his shoulders.

Daryl nodded, his cheek against the crown of her skull, loving the way that despite the layers of grime and blood, she smelt like herself, spice and the deep woods at night beneath the silver ice of the moon.

"Me too." He murmured. There had been a few moments when he thought he might never see her again. The crowd of shambling corpses, all reaching for him, snarling and snapping ruined jaws, blood and flesh spitting from between broken, jagged teeth, deep throated growls and hissing and the reek of gore and rotting flesh the only thing he could smell. He inhaled again, pulling her scent down into his lungs the same way he used to do with nicotine. After a while his grip on her loosened just a little, becoming more gentle rather than possessive. "Did you talk to Rick?" he asked. If anybody had, it would have been her.

She nodded. "In a manner of speaking. He's shaken. He might never be the exact same man we once knew."

Daryl leaned against her grateful she was strong enough to take it. "I know." He murmured. None of them would ever really be the same as they had been. Every day they moved further and further away. Most of them wanted to go back, but not him. If he went back, he'd lose her, and the people who had shown him what having a family could be like. A weird, jumbled, jagged, family, but a family in the sense that no matter what, they would protect each other. Catch each other. Risk a bite for each other. In the store, in the darkness and the sea of blood gushing down at their feet as he, Glenn, and Maggie hacked through the horde for their lives…nobody had asked questions, nobody had bargained, they'd fought not just for their lives, but for each others lives as well. It wasn't the first time, but those odds had been so desperate, and still they'd survived to make it back. It made this moment with her all that much more potent.

Daryl let his hands trace down Fox's back before settling on her hips and pulling her flush against him. She didn't wait to be told or for him to make the move, she tilted her head back and her lips found his in a deep, hungry kiss. They devoured each other's mouths, reaffirming their connection with a fierce clutch of teeth and tongue. His hands tightened on her hips, long fingers biting in deep, sending warm currents of electricity through her frame. Despite having just come in from the cold outside world his skin was already burning hot and searing through her and they hadn't even gotten their clothes off yet.

"Closed room." She growled against his neck, her teeth nipping in a little as she did so. He gave a gruff, wordless agreement and took her by the hand and they went room by room until they found one that was unlocked. A brief but careful sweep revealed that it was empty of any Walkers and Daryl pushed Fox onto her back on the professor's desk, bending down and sucking on her neck hard, loving the way he could feel her heart beating so hard that it was about to pound out of her chest and into him. He needed that reaction from her, he needed her to be alive, writhing, pushing and pulling against him, almost to the point of fighting. He needed that rough wildness, that affirmation they were alive, they could still feel, and to work through that terrible sensation that they were maybe about to lose their minds as death after death ripped away what remained of their sanity.

He un-shouldered his crossbow and let it fall to the floor and he didn't waste any time in taking off the belt that held her knives. She pushed up on her hands to slide it out from underneath her and he let it fall to the floor as her thighs opened for him and he slid between them, rolling the already aching hardness in his jeans against her heat. He groaned softly at the feeling, not realizing how badly he had been missing it until just now. Her fingers were twisted into his jacket, scrabbling at the zipper and roughly pull it down all the way to his waist before pushing it off his shoulders and to the floor. She tore at the buttons of his long sleeve shirt, most likely ripping a few of them off entirely as she shoved the fabric away, immediately digging her nails into the taught, burning flesh of his chest as he kissed her roughly, one hand coming up to cup her cheek and jaw, the other clenched into her hip, holding her still and rolling her against his straining arousal. They were both grunting against each other as he tugged on her lip with his teeth before dropping both hands to her hips and pushing her further onto the desk and climbing up to meet her, his knees meeting the hard wooden surface. She sat up, their mouths still connected tightly as his fingers worked to get her out of her coat. She flung it to the floor and then lifted her arms to free herself from her long sleeve shirt. Immediately his hands palmed her exposed belly and flanks, streaking her skin with dust, dirt, and sweat but she didn't care. He reached behind her back and undid the clasp for her bra, throwing the flimsy material away, eager fingers squeezing the firmness of her breast, making her moan softly as he pushed her back down against the table. Her hips rolled up into his as he pinned her down, her neck arching as his teeth found her throat, giving her sharp little love bites, soothing the brief sting with his tongue working his way down her body methodically, but she was in too much of a hurry to let him tease her for long. She pulled on his hair to bring his mouth back up to hers and let her tongue invade him while her hands worked on his belt, flicking her wrist sharply to loosen it and then pushing his pants off, the fabric loose enough that it wasn't necessary for him to undo his boots. She arched up underneath him as his rough, calloused fingertips stroked down her stomach and then undid her belt. She used her hands as she rocked up underneath him to push her jeans and panties down just as far as necessary, the fabric rucking up past her knees, her boots preventing her from kicking it off all the way. She hissed when she felt his fingers cupping her sex, the gathering heat and moisture there spurning him on, his tongue diving deep into her mouth.

"Hurry." She panted, her hips arching up towards him, her nails clawing at the nape of his neck. She followed the line of his spine, feeling the edges of his scars beneath her nails and as she crossed them he shivered deep in his bones but she didn't stop. She pulled his underwear down fast and sprang him loose from his confinement, causing him to growl with need. He followed her lead and didn't waste any time, pushing into her with sharp precision, causing her to curse and knock her head back against the desk. Her body was so tightly wired after all of the tension and the time that had passed, she didn't even want him to wait, biting his neck to goad him into moving. His rhythm was fast and relentless, the sound of both their labored breathing quickly filling the room even as her partially smothered cries worked their way past his mouth. Yes, this exactly what she had needed. Him against her, pushing and pulling, driving her mad, reminding her that she was alive, visceral, all she had to do was feel, feel the churning ache he created in her, the way he satisfied it with every powerful thrust of his hips, the heat coiling in her belly as he drove her towards her peak, her body trembling against him as his thrusts came faster and harder, his growls getting deeper in his throat as his hands began to squeeze and pull her body to his liking. She bucked up against him as she felt electric tingling began to fan out through her flesh, spilling heat and lust and desire all the way from her bones through her skin. Sweat slicked them both as they moved against each other, relentlessly driving each other to the edge of everything. He felt as though he was losing his mind as he bore down on her, her body wrapped around his in a close embrace, her nails raking against his shoulders and back, against the scars he never let anybody see. Pain edged pleasure rolled through him and he growled deep in his throat, his fingers digging into her hips and twisting her so she was now on her knees. He leaned over her back, never faltering his rhythm, sinking deep into an animal part of himself, his ego heavily stroked when she yelped and whined with need at the way he made her feel. She pushed and pulled on him, hissing and moaning his name over and over again. She arched up, her back meeting his chest, her head tipping back even as he drove her towards her peak. He bent down and sank his teeth into her neck and shoulder, not hard enough to break the skin, but almost, enough to cause her to groan and twist her fingers into his hair. She raked her nails against the nape of his neck and before he had realized what she was doing, she was flipping them over and his back was on the desk and she was over him, pinning his wrists behind his head even as she rode him with blinding speed and accuracy. He snarled her name and fought her restraints out of instinct but the pleasure was going through the roof and he was losing his ability to care. He just needed to crash over that plane, plunge entirely off the cliff, forget, just forget everything, everything except for this. She stripped him down to his bare bones and he loved that they could fight for every inch of everything with each other and still howl when they both went diving over the cliff.

She yielded to him at the last second and he put her on her back before driving home, his teeth finding purchase in her throat as her body arched and bucked against him, hands and nails scrabbling at his back and sides, her breath a choked gasp while she thrashed against him, her peak sending her to ecstasy as she cried a broken version of his name while white hot light burst behind her eyes as the pleasure crashed over her, the inner tightness of her body squeezing down on him so hard that it was his undoing. He couldn't have stopped himself even if he had been remotely aware that his climax was going to hit him that hard, that fast. His teeth bit down hard enough that he could taste the salty tang of her blood and never in his life had he felt more alive. His hands pulled on her hips and jerked her as tightly as he could against her as he moaned, buried to the hilt, unable to move, think, or even breathe as he rode through the intense wave of pleasure and rapidly oncoming exhaustion. He collapsed against her, his head against her chest, listening to the rapid pounding of her heart, loving the way she smelled of sex and spice and himself. He rubbed his nose against her skin for a moment before he carefully lifted himself off of her, pulling out and sitting back on his haunches. She arched up to meet him, her messy hair falling all across her back and shoulders as she kissed him deeply, her body pushing against his as her fingers tangled in his dark hair, holding him to her before sliding her palms down his back, feeling the scars and the shaking flesh and loving every inch of him more than she could ever remember feeling. She shuddered in his embrace and just let him hold her together until she could pull back and look him in the eye, leaning her forehead against his.

"I love you." She whispered. She hadn't needed to say it, he could feel it in every inch of skin pressed against his own, in the burning green color of her eyes, the sound of her breath and the slight tremble as she laced her arms around his neck.

"I love you too." He breathed against her lips, leaning in for another fast kiss, wanting to feel her shaking so he could steady her.

He held her to him for a while, just savoring the moment that he had her in his arms. That she was real, that he was real, that he had her with him, that they'd both survived the day. He nuzzled her neck and cheek, humming a sound of contentment in his throat before his hip began to complain about the weight and pressure he was putting on it. He finally let her go and slid off the desk to take the pressure off his leg and pulled his underwear and pants back up, belting up his jeans as Fox did the same. He went and retrieved her shirt and bra and handed them to her and appreciated the view for as long as he could as she redressed. They picked up their coats but didn't put them back on yet, still sweating and panting from the hot and heavy round of sex. She leaned up against the desk for a moment and he realized that she wasn't ready to face the group yet. He wasn't surprised. They hadn't had time alone ever since they'd fled the mountains.

"I didn't know you were so good with kids." She murmured softly.

He smiled a little and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling how long his hair had grown and wondering if it would be worth cutting it. He rolled his shoulders and picked up his crossbow from the floor and setting it on one of the desks that was overturned.

"Babies are easy. They don't need much." He said with a slight nod but he tilted his head at her carefully. "What did you say to Rick?"

She shifted her weight and slid off of the desk, wincing a little bit as he did so, but as she walked up towards him she loosened up again.

"Didn't say much. Neither of us were really in a talking mood." She said quietly. It was clear whatever had happened she didn't feel like explaining. Daryl understood that the two of them shared some kind of bond that he didn't have with the other members of camp. Daryl was Rick's second in command but there was something that connected him with Fox that he didn't have with the rest of the group. He turned to her for the hard things, the things that he didn't want to see the light, and whatever it was that had happened while he'd been gone had probably been along those lines.

"You're ok?" Daryl asked, his fingers cupping her jaw and tilting her head up so she looked him in the eyes.

She nodded. "I'm fine. And so is Rick. Physically anyway. This is going to take time, Daryl. He's going to need you."

"I ain't supposed to lead." He muttered slowly letting her go but she came towards him again.

"When Rick is down you are, and you do it well, and he might be up and walking around, but he's still down. He needs you. He needs to know you can keep the group safe when he's out. All the group needs is someone to look to. We're safe for now. We've got shelter and the baby is healthy. There's no reason we have to leave this place. Just let the group look at you when there's a question until Rick can handle it. He'll come around, he just needs time."

Daryl nodded slowly. "Come on. Let's head back." He murmured, shouldering his crossbow again. Fox picked up her belt and strapped it back around her waist and followed him out of the room and back into the hall. They went back into the cafeteria and weren't surprised to find that the rest of the group, including the baby, was asleep. Someone had found a small cardboard box from inside the kitchen and lined it with a few of the blankets that they'd taken from the supply run to create a makeshift crib for her. She was surrounded by Carol and Maggie who had the baby between them as they lay in their sleeping bags, both their shoulders up against the box. Daryl smiled a little at the sight and went to his bag and unzipped it and removed the doll and the stuffed dog and took them both to the little box and gently tucked both around the baby. She wiggled a little in her sleep and latched her arms around the doll, yawning without opening her eyes and then settling back down underneath the blankets.

He slid down to the floor on top of his sleeping bag and Fox did the same, sliding next to him and tangling with him the same way she had all winter except for now there was no privacy between them and the rest of the group, but Daryl was too damn tired to care. So what if the group found them in the morning all twisted together like this. The only thing that really mattered was protecting the rest of the group, and the new life they had to care for.

He slept on and off throughout the night but as soon as he heard the soft wiggling coming from the cardboard box his eyes were open fully. He gently pried Fox's limbs off of him and tucked the blanket around her before getting up and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He scooped up the baby from the box and held her against his chest, murmuring to her as soothingly as his rough voice would allow. She was still wiggling and fussing against him and so he carried her to the table and picked up Maggie's bag and carefully laid her out on the flat surface.

"Hey, hey, hey now, easy sweetheart. I'll get you cleaned up and then something to eat and you'll go back to sleep. Don't go waking the rest of camp, no need for that." He murmured even as her pale little legs began to kick, her face scrunching up. He changed her as quickly as he could, his brain sluggish from still being half asleep and then he set to work fixing her a bottle. She was almost in a full-blown cry by the time he had it ready. He tucked her back into the blanket and against his chest before nudging her lips with the bottle. She suckled greedily, stilling in his arms, her contented sucking sounds the only thing Daryl could hear except for the soft sighs of breath from his sleeping companions.

"There's a good little ass kicker." Daryl murmured as he rocked her gently while she ate. He got up off the table, walking with her slowly, moving through the cafeteria, wandering aimlessly.

"You know, I don't think your daddy's even seen you yet." He said to her, saying whatever came to mind because nobody but her was there to listen. "What do you say we find him and you two introduce yourselves." Her tiny fingers brushed against the hand that held the bottle, her eyes open and staring up at him, bright gleams of blue.

"I'll take that as a yes." He cooed. He carefully set her down on the table and putting the bottle next to her, quickly tugging on his jacket and then scooping her up again, keeping her bundled inside his coat as he pulled up the zipper, still holding the bottle so she could nurse as he moved. He carefully nudged his way out of the cafeteria and began to wander through the school, searching for her father. He finally found Rick sitting on the front steps outside and Daryl was surprised to see that there were no nearby Walker bodies. He looked further and saw that they had been piled into a large heap and were burning, the fire bright and promising warmth despite the reek of death that it also caused, but they were too far away to feel its heat.

"Rick." Daryl murmured as to not startle the man as he approached.

The former sheriff twisted around and saw Daryl standing behind him and wordlessly nodded to the man as permission to come closer. Daryl did so, carefully sitting down on the stiff concrete beside him even as the baby continued to drain her bottle while he adjusted her against his chest.

"She ok?" Rick finally managed to speak.

Daryl nodded. "Healthy as a horse." He murmured. "Got a good set of lungs on her."

"Thanks for…for getting up with her." Rick said, still not quite looking at either of them, watching the way the fire was burning in the distance. Daryl wasn't worried about it possibly spreading, the grass was so wet with ice and dew that there was now way the flames could spread beyond the pile of bodies.

"I don't mind." Daryl said calmly. "But I figured she needed to meet her father."

Rick shifted uneasily, finally looking at his friend and the baby whose face was visible from the top of his jacket. He looked back down at the ground and Daryl carefully set the bottle aside once she had drained it dry.

"She needs you, Rick. She's your daughter." He murmured softly.

"No she isn't. You know that. Everyone freaking knows it." Rick growled, his teeth clenching.

Daryl rolled his eyes and unzipped his coat a bit so he could shift the baby to his shoulder and coax her to burp. "You think she knows that? You think she cares? You think she'll ever know that unless someone tells her, and why the hell would anybody tell her? Shane is dead, Rick. He can't hurt us anymore. And she needs you now. You're her father." Daryl insisted. When he felt the baby give a soft little burp he tucked her back into his chest and held his arm around her to keep away the cold, pulling his knees up to his chest as he did so.

"She doesn't need me. She needs someone better than me." Rick said quietly, his voice as heavy as if he was weighed down by a battleship's anchor.

"No, Rick." Daryl spoke, keeping his voice calm, both for the baby and Rick's sake. "All she needs is a warm body against hers, someone to feed her and keep her diaper changed and to rock her back to sleep. She ain't looking for answers or truth or reasons why. I don't want to imagine what it's like to know Lori is gone." He paused as he saw the man's expression tighten, somewhere between devastation and anger, but kept going before he could be cut off. "If I lost Fox…I'd kill every last bastard who ever had anything to do with it, and after I don't know what I would do. But there's nobody here to blame. I know it ain't just gonna go away, nobody's asking you to pretend like nothing happened. But it don't change that you've got two kids who need you like hell."

Rick swallowed hard. "Sounds like you've been there." He murmured softly.

Daryl shifted and tucked the baby against his chest a little more firmly. "I have been there. My mom died when I was five, and my old man was a boozehound that couldn't tell his head from his ass no matter what time of day, and I'm convinced Merle was God's way of pissing on me when it came to having someone I could rely on. I came out ok, but it ain't nothing I'd want to have happen to Carl, or her. They don't deserve it Rick." He said firmly.

"How is it you're so good with her?" Rick asked, noting the way the baby was completely at ease in his arms, and that he was relaxed with her as well, something he hadn't expected in the least.

Daryl gave him a look that clearly said the answer was obvious. "People keep asking me that. Babies are easy." He replied. "Like I said, they ain't looking for answers. Just someone warm and who will take care of them. And as long as they have that, they'll trust that the world is an ok place. She's got a group who's gonna look out for her and make sure she's taken care of, Rick. But she needs her father. I nursed her while you were gone cause I sure as shit wasn't gonna let her go hungry, but she needs to know that her father can meet her needs too. That she can trust you."

Rick turned to face him and Daryl carefully unzipped his coat made sure her blanket was tucked around her tightly before he passed the baby to him. He cradled her in his arms with the expertise only an experienced father could and held her to his chest, slowly folding over and trying not to cry. Her and Carl were the last pieces of Lori he had left and it hurt so bad to know that such a huge piece of himself had been torn away, it was almost enough to break him right then. Daryl stayed with him until the man's shaking subsided and kept his eyes trained on the fire as Rick wiped away the tears.

"Thank you." Rick murmured as he held his now sleeping daughter against him and he stared out at the flames that were still burning.

"What did Fox say to you while I was gone? She said you and her talked." If Rick wouldn't tell him he would understand, but he was curious. Whatever she had done, she seemed to have at least managed to put temporary breaks on his spirit shattering. Who knows what tomorrow would bring, but tonight he seemed to at least be able to hold a conversation.

"She…she gave me what I needed." The sheriff finally responded. He glanced at Daryl and there was a silent understanding that whatever it had been it was nothing he needed to be worried about, and Daryl trusted both Rick and Fox's judgment when it came to that.

"Yeah, she's good at that. Even if you didn't know you needed it." The hunter agreed quietly. He remembered the sting in his cheek when she'd slapped him not so many days ago, the tightness of her grip, preventing him from walking away. The sharpness of her voice when she demanded he answer her. And all those months ago at the quarry after the Walkers invaded and so many people had died, and he was thinking about bailing out. Just up and leaving and going at this hell hole alone. She had said nothing then, just waited and watched him and said everything she'd ever need to with her eyes. Reminding him of the man he wanted to be. The man he finally believed he had become.

Rick looked at him, agreement written all over his face. The hunter slowly got up to his feet and offered Rick his hand. The sheriff took it, shaking as he did so, but Daryl kept him steady and pulled him up to his feet before letting go.  
"Come on. Let's go back inside. She's got a little bed you can lay her down in and then you can get some sleep. We got work to do in the morning."

Rick nodded wordlessly. It was maybe the hardest thing he had ever done to follow Daryl back into that room where he knew his wife had died in but surprisingly that wasn't what registered to him when he followed his friend back into the cafeteria. What hit him was how close the whole group had pulled together, all of them almost within an arm's reach of each other, sleeping contentedly. He still felt the empty, ragged, aching loss where Lori should have been, but as his eyes fell onto the curled sleeping form of his son, a few of those jagged edges were smoothed over. Yes. He did still have his son, and his son needed him. And the baby in his arms did need him too. He murmured softly to her before very gently lowering her into her little box and tucking the blankets around her. Daryl went back to where Fox was and did his best not to wake her but failed in his attempts as he got back under the blanket with her.

"Where'd you go?" Fox murmured sleepily.

"Brought Rick back inside." He said quietly as he pulled her against him, her back against his chest, his nose in the tangled mess of her hair and then her neck.

"And used the baby as a lure judging by your smell." Fox added.

Daryl smiled against her neck for a moment, deciding not to bother with words. He closed his eyes and within minutes he was asleep, breathing steady, deep breaths against her neck. He was thankful that he was too exhausted to dream and instead sank deep into the darkness, grateful for its warm, overwhelming presence.


	36. Chapter 36

**_Ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back! Ok, just a question, was anybody else wanting to tear their hair out at last night's episode? For a variety of reasons, chief being for me there was NOT enough ass kicking going on? I get that sometimes they have to stand around and just talk and sort things out but REALLY!? The whole damn episode? Hopefully next week's will have some blood spatter going on. Anyway, on the with the show! _**

**Emberka-2012**:_ Yes, Daryl with a baby. It is a memorable sight. And it's good that he was able get through to Rick._

I know, I absolutely love Daryl's attachment to the baby, its so cute. He got through to Rick in that moment, but Rick is definitely still teetering back and forth between reality and fantasy. He's trying to hang on, the group is pulling him one way, but the stress and exhaustion is driving him in another.

**WinterIsComing1015**: _What a great chapter...lots of feels but these were bittersweet instead of just bitter. I LOOOOOVE Daryl with the baby. Look at him go. He DOES luff her :-) he's so comfortable with her, so careful and tentative. And woohoo some sexy time with Fox! Short but OH so sweet and something they both truly NEEDED. But le sigh...I know you, and it wouldn't be Rebell's nature to keep things nice and calm for much more than a chapter..._

He luffs her waaaaaay more than he lets on, and that's exactly how it should be. He's gotta have one chink in the bad-ass armor, might as well be her. Mmmmm, not much time for wining, dining, or sexy times in the zombie apocalypse, but they make due where they can, and it was definitely something they both needed. A reaffirmation of their bond and a way to work through the tension and the fear. And of course it wouldn't. The hurricane is about ready to make landfall. Hang on tight guys….hang on.

**Kaleiburzz**: _Goddamn. Fox and Rick... That was stunning. I love it! She's so... Wow. I completely agree with that. It was exactly what Rick needed. I loved how she was immitating Shane to get Rick to play. With Daryl and the baby. Omg, I wanted to squeal like a little Norman Reedus groupie. Ahhhh! So fricken' cute! And holy hell. The sex scene. My head is still in the clouds right now. I'm lovin' the Daryl and Rick not-really-a heart to heart. So Rick is back? Good! This whole crazy Rick in he show right now is driving me up the wall! Update. Immediately._

Fox definitely has her own way of solving problems and trying to get her point across. A lot of time it doesn't work because she can be so rough and abrasive, but in this instance, it was what Rick needed. That scene in the actual show when Rick pinned Glenn against the wall just after Lori died when Glenn tried to talk to him really struck a chord with me. Her playing along as Shane was just stoking the fire in Rick, just to get him past the breaking point. I knowwww, Daryl and the baby, it is criminally cute, and so I have to get as much of that in as possible. And the sexiness with Daryl and Fox. I knew I wanted to get at least one more scene with the two of them in this story, and it was an almost now or never moment for them. As to your question if Rick is back…Rick just has to take it moment by moment. The group is doing what they can to pull him back and make sure he stays within the realm of sanity, but sometimes no amount of pulling in the world can be enough, as you'll see soon enough…

**oXxgeorgiaxX0**: _Aww daryl with the baby is too cute. Xxxx. Can't wait till the next chapter._

I absolutely agree. The moments with Daryl and the baby in the show totally broke my adorable meter, so I added as much of those as I could in my own story.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _I love this chapter and I loooovvveeee Daryl! So much ahahaha. I also really like the relationship between Andrea and Fox. Amazing chapter as always!_

I definitely wanted the relationship between Andrea and Fox to have a little bit of a highlight in this chapter. Their similar in certain respects, but Fox is by far more action oriented and more determined to make a decision, even if it might be the wrong one. And she has less guilt and less worries about said decision too, but some of that might be a function of age, she is only 19 after all.

**Emerald Gaze**:_ you just made daryl an even more perfect being. i mean it was squeal inducing just seeing him feed the baby in the show but u even had him change the diaper and everything! Daryl: expert hunter/tracker and babysitter/nanny i hope no one sees that bite it'd suck having to explain it oh and i caught up on the episode i missed! it makes me want so badly to see how you handle merle and daryl meeting back up in this!_! _

Daryl loves that little girl for sure, and so he wants to be involved with her as much as possible, and if he's the first to wake up when she needs something, he'll take care of her. My adorable meter completely cracked with the feels in the show when he was feeding her, so of course I added as much of that as I could into my story. Mm, Rick and Fox both don't want people to see the bite wound. She doesn't want to have to explain it, because she knows other people won't agree with the way she handled it, and Rick doesn't want the group to know how close to the brink of maybe never coming back he is. Oooooooh, the reuniting of the brothers, I have the scene all planned out, I cannot WAIT to bring it ;-)

**FanFicGirl10**: _Wooooooooooo that was intense! At least Fox tried to help Rick. Yeah i love the smut, aww my heart always melts when Daryl and Fox say i love you to each other. Aww Nanny Daryl is th bext, good that Daryl got through Rick :) Love it, Update Soon!_

It was intense. I took cues from the show in how rough it might have gotten after seeing Rick manhandle Glenn in the prison just after Lori died when Glenn tried to get him to come back to the cell block. But Fox is a fighter of course, she'd never take that lying down, even if she somewhat understands why. That's just not who she is. I knowwwwwww, its so cute even when I write it between them, cause both of them are so tough and gritty and so its nice when I can give them that little bit of softness, and Daryl did manage to get through to Rick…in that moment. They ain't out of the woods yet though.

**Scared-Heart**: _Holy crap! Daryl is a baby man! Haha, he and fox would be great parents. That kid would turn out amazing. So the last part of this chapter that Daryl and Rick her conversing, I was freaking out; because i was thinking that Daryl was going to see the bite mark fox gave Rick and think really bad things. Especially since Rick and fox were being very vague about what happened between them._

Daryl is definitely a baby man. After all of the things that happened to him as a kid, it only makes sense that he'd want to do the exact opposite for any kids he comes into contact with, I do think he'd make an excellent father. Fox…Fox would definitely have to get used to being a mother. She's so independent and jealous of her time, I think she would have a harder time adjusting to taking care of a baby. She would, but it'd be more of a stretch for her. But man, just imagine. Daryl's intuition and loyalty combined with Fox's tenacity and wildness? Helluva combo. Mm, they both were being vague for different reasons. Daryl understands that Rick and Fox share a bond that she doesn't have with any other members of camp, but he trusts her completely, and he trusts Rick, but yeah, explaining that bite would be a challenge indeed.

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: _Woo, sorry I didn't review last chapter, I had no WiFi at the time and when I got home I guess it slipped my mind. Oh the feels I loved the Fox Rick action it was great, I love your fight scenes there so detailed and pretty (Pretty as in bloody and gorey) I can't stop reading until its over. Does anyone else find Daryl with babies the cutest thing ever. Ah leaving WiFi in a minute so see ya.- KAT OUT_

No worries, I totally understand. Mm, so many feels in this last chapter, echoing all of the feels that have been in the show lately, and it was the perfect opportunity for Fox and Rick to have it out in a way. Sometimes the only way to get through your issues is to just literally beat them out, and Fox perfectly understands this. She's definitely more of a physical being, and she doesn't mind taking a risk to help someone she cares about. Yes. Daryl with a baby is by far the cutest thing EVER. Ever.

**Senora Sapphire**: _Oh my god I love this story! It's so good and I love the way you portrayed Daryl! He's just such a redneck badass :) haha and I love Fox! She's freaking awesome! Everytime I watch an episode I'm like waiting for her to come on XD haha but seriously if they ever read these they need to have Fox just randomly come in and be all like "Daryl I'm hereeee!" Haha I love Daryl and the baby :) he's such a sweet heart to her :) I can't wait until you update!_

Well hi there, nice to see a new reviewer drop in. I really did my best to keep Daryl and the other members of the group in character as well, I wanted my story to be as 'legitimate' as possible, so there could be some credibility when I go tweaking things with my own OC and my own plot, and I'm so glad you like Fox. I wrote her initially to be unlikeable, but people have taken to her anyway, so I'm really glad for that =) You're not the only one to say they wish Fox was an actual character on the show and that just makes my writer's heart squeal with happiness. I think I'd die of pure amazement if Fox was ever on the show, even as just a guest character or something. And of course if she shacked up with Daryl…well…wouldn't that just be the icing on my dream cake eh? XD. Daryl really is a huge pile of fluffy marshmallow sweetness when it comes to the baby, I just can't resist having as much of it as possible in the story. Thanks again for your review, it always makes my day to see them in my inbox, especially new ones!

* * *

The next morning Daryl was woken to the sound of the baby crying. He was starting to get the feeling that this was going to be a repeat occurrence, but without aggravation he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes on the heels of his hands. His back was protesting against the stiffness of the floor but he ignored it as he maneuvered around the sleeping heads of his companions and reached inside the box where the baby slept.

"Easy little ass kicker." He murmured, his palm on the baby's chest and belly, assuring her of his presence before he took his hand away to get up to his feet and pick up the box before carrying her to the table, going through the same routine he had last night, walking in an almost blind haze while he nursed her.

"Oh the shit my brother would give me if he could see me now." He said through a yawn. "But he ain't here no more, just like always." He continued. "Not like you care though, s'long as you got someone holding you." He actually found himself almost laughing at the insanity of it all. Barely a year ago he and Merle were two wolves looking for a herd of sheep to take advantage of as they survived in a world without rules. And now he was cuddling another man's baby, cooing like a teenage girl. "And you're worth it, aren'tcha, you little ass kicker." He rubbed his nose against her cheek, enjoying the milky sweet smell of her skin.

"And the illusion continues to shatter."

He turned and saw Andrea getting up from her sleeping bag. He rolled his eyes but he couldn't help the sheepish smile that toyed with his mouth. She approached and he carefully passed her the baby, handing her the bottle too before she could make a fuss.

"Well not really actually." Andrea continued as she rocked the baby gently in her arms. "You will recall Virginia."

Daryl felt a hot flush go up the back of his neck. "Yeah, yeah." He muttered as he sat back on the table, yawning again, wishing like hell for a good dose of coffee or really anything that had caffeine. That was another thing they needed to start thinking about. They had shelter for the moment, but their supply of food was dangerous low. They hadn't checked the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat here but Daryl was betting it was already gone or rancid at this point. He'd have to worry about it later.

"The last time I remember holding a baby was when Amy was born." Andrea said softly. "I was twelve and at first I was so pissed at my parents cause I liked being an only child and I didn't really feel like having to share. But then the first time I held her… I knew better." She looked over at him, a quiet smile in her eyes. He returned a similar expression and then looked at Rick who was sleeping on the floor next to his son, his fingers twitching in his sleep.

"He ain't out of the woods yet. But he'll come through soon." Daryl murmured softly.

"I hate knowing where he's at but not being able to reach him." Andrea replied as she too watched Rick. Daryl sensed that he had an opportunity to make some headway about a situation that had been bothering him for a long time. For a while he'd just pushed it down to the bottom of his ever increasing list of things he had to do, but now that he could breathe and nobody else was awake he had the chance.

"Andrea. I know you don't agree with the way Rick and Fox handled Shane. But did he ever say anything. Anything that would explain what happened?" He looked at her steadily, gauging her reaction. At first her blue eyes said she was indignant that he would bring Shane up, but then they softened and grew almost sad.

"Once." She said softly. "We had just…you know." She shifted slightly and readjusted the baby in her arms. "And afterwards he asked if I wanted to go with him. That he had a place we could go and we'd be safe there. I asked where and he wouldn't tell me, and I said I wouldn't go with him. He never said another word about it. I never asked him about it, but I always wondered if he was serious or blowing smoke." She paused and looked at him carefully. "You think he had something to do with what happened in New York?"

Daryl nodded. "Maybe he knew those men. Maybe he told those men to come for us because he had turned against Rick."

Andrea's eyes narrowed. "No. Even if Shane had hated him that badly, would he have put Lori and Carl at risk like that? It doesn't make sense."

Daryl rolled his shoulders. "I just got a bad feeling, whatever caused them to attack us…it ain't over yet. And if they find us again…it ain't gonna go well."

Andrea shifted the baby in her arms and fell silent. At that particular moment the rest of the group began to shift and wake up, including Rick who sat up very slowly as though he had a helluva hangover. Daryl knew that Lori's body was still on the other side of the cafeteria and that she had to be buried soon. Hopefully Rick had calmed down, and stayed down, enough to consent to it. He looked up past Rick and towards Fox who was stretching, her back arched in a sharp curve off the floor as her hands waved around looking for him but as soon as she sat up and pushed her hair out of her face she saw him and smiled a little, mostly in her eyes. He returned her look before sliding off the table and heading into the kitchen at the back of the cafeteria. Time to scrounge for breakfast. He was pursued by quiet footsteps and he turned to see Glenn following at his heels. Together the two of them picked through all of the cardboard boxes, cupboards, and closets but in the end found exactly nothing.

"Damn. I was sure there'd be something here." Glenn said wearily. He leaned on one of the counters and kicked his foot against the baseboard in anger.

"Shoulda known." Daryl muttered. "The windows of this place were all boarded up. People were here, they probably ate everything and then pulled out."

Glenn rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, still bloody from yesterday's battle after the supply run for the baby. "Yeah well what are we gonna do now? We barely made a dent in that herd, Daryl. We barely got out with our lives, and if they come all the way here they could rip this place to the ground."

It wasn't lost on him that Glenn was giving him the same expression that he used to give to Rick. A soldier looking at his leader. It made the hunter's insides shift uneasily but there wasn't much he could do. He had to do what Rick had trusted him to do, which was keep the group safe and provide for them if he was out.

_No pay raise or bonuses with this gig. _He thought to himself.

"First we bury Lori. Then we run patrols and see how bad the situation with the herd is. They might have dispersed at this point. If they have, we go for supplies and bring them back here. If the herd comes this way, we pull out."

"With a new baby? Crying every four hours to be fed? Daryl, we wouldn't get ten miles without a whole herd of Walkers following us." Glenn insisted.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the kid. "If the herd finds us and we're here when the ax comes down, we'll get ripped to pieces. We're running out of bullets kid, and only about half our group can really handle hand to hand combat without running the risk of getting bitten or whacking off a hand by mistake. And when shit hits the fan, I'd rather be on the move than trapped here."

Glenn bit his fingers into the countertop but eventually nodded. "Alright. Now we've got a grave to dig."

Daryl nodded and followed the kid back into the main cafeteria. Rick was up and holding the baby, Carl right at his side, watching over everything carefully. As soon as the sheriff saw Daryl approach he passed Carl the baby and met Daryl's eyes.

"Anything?" he asked.

"Nope. Whoever was here before cleaned it out. We've got half a days food and water left. I say we do what needs to be done here and then go for a run."

Rick sighed heavily and got up to his feet. He wandered away out of the cafeteria and down the hall. Fox tried to follow him but Daryl touched her wrist and shook his head. He picked up his jacket and shrugged into the material and then slid his crossbow around his shoulders before walking out of the cafeteria as well. He followed Rick at a long distance and watched the man go for the vehicles and return with a shovel and aimlessly walked towards a patch of grass and started digging into the ground, cracking through the ice and shoveling the soil away. Daryl went to the car as well and retrieved the second shovel and began to help which caused Rick to pause and stare at him.

"What are you doing?" the man asked.

Daryl huffed a breath and shoveled another large mound of earth out of the ground. "No reason you should do all the heavy lifting by yourself." He returned to his work as did Rick and within an hour they had a deep grave dug. Rick leaned against the shovel, his shoulders and arms shaking but Daryl knew it wasn't from physical weakness. He found himself at a loss for words but he waited until Rick was able to stand up on his own and walk back to the cars to replace the shovels. Daryl followed silently and again at a distance. He was only there to make sure Rick didn't go to pieces, didn't go somewhere that he couldn't be brought back from. When Rick came back into the cafeteria Carol had the baby in her arms, bundled up tightly in several layers of blankets. Daryl motioned for Glenn to come with him as he and Rick walked towards Lori's carefully wrapped body but as they moved to help Rick lift her, the sheriff glared at them all, a very clear warning to back up. Glenn followed Daryl's lead as he did so and Rick carefully lifted Lori up into his arms and began to walk away with her. Daryl motioned for the rest of the group to follow. Carl stayed at his father's side, and Daryl could see the kid struggling not to cry. He didn't blame him; one of the only things he'd counted on was gone and now his dad wasn't doing so hot either. Beneath the sadness he could see the pressure on the kid's shoulder, trying to step up and take care of his little sister and be what his father needed him to be. It was a lot for a kid so young to handle, and Daryl knew instinctively that Carl really wasn't a kid anymore. Something had changed in him last night. The piece of him that was still clinging to the innocence of his childhood was gone. He moved almost like a soldier. Stiff, controlled, wrenched down and forced into submission. Daryl knew all too well how that felt.

Rick led them to the grave they'd dug and when he reached it, Daryl and Glenn moved to help him lower her down into the earth. At first Rick resisted but eventually he relented, jumping down into the grave and then allowing Glenn and Daryl to pass her body to him. He lowered her down and peeled the sheet back from her pale face and pulled the locket off from around her neck and held it in his bloody palm. He leaned down to kiss her cold cheek a final time, squeezing his eyes shut, and Daryl at first was afraid that he would lose himself again. But at last the man looked up and pulled himself out of the grave, refusing the offered hands from Daryl and Glenn. At first no one moved and no one spoke, they all just pulled in close and were silent, trying their best to understand how this had happened, how they were supposed to keep going, and trying to reason their way out of the fear that the life they had tried so hard to build for each other was being ripped away piece by piece.

"It doesn't matter." Fox said quietly. "It doesn't matter how many of us die. Or who or when or where or what for. We will fight until the last man is standing. And if they kill the last one of us, we can say we went down fighting. It's the only thing we have left to honor those that we lost."

Rick crouched down and dug his hand into the cold, damp earth and tossed it into the grave. Carl did the same, and then one by one, as they had done for Sophia and Dale, they all pushed and packed the earth in over Lori until the grave was filled in. Daryl could see the rest of the group struggling with trying to find words to say, not wanting to leave Rick but understanding that there was a boundary there that couldn't be crossed right now. One by one they walked away, Carl being the last, lingering by his father's side long after everyone else had gone. It was Daryl to go back for the boy, motioning for him to follow.

"Come on. We got work we have to do." Daryl said.

Carl nodded and got up to his feet, leaving his father by the grave, following the hunter at his side. It was time to treat the kid like he was a capable member of the group. Like he had a place besides just Rick and Lori's son. He had earned it last night, and he deserved that recognition.

"What are we gonna do about the food situation?" Carl asked as they slowly made their way back up the sloping grassy hill towards the school.

"Organize a patrol and go for a run. Figure I'd take you, me, Fox, and Andrea." He glanced down at the kid who he noticed had his pistol in his hand, pointed safely at the ground, but his finger was on the trigger already. "Unless you wanna stay here." He offered the option in case he was worried about Rick and didn't want to leave him alone.

"No, I'll go." Carl insisted. "Hopefully Dad won't freak out."

_Kid, your dad's on the ship that has been done sailed to crazy town. That's the last of your worries. _

He didn't say it though. "He won't. He'll be proud of you when you bring home dinner." He tilted his head and silently they walked back into the cafeteria. They all instinctively turned towards him and he did his best not to feel the pressure of all their eyes, looking for a familiar pair of green gem cut irises to soothe him. When he found her gaze he told her silently that she had said the right thing at Lori's grave, the thing they'd all been struggling to say out loud but hadn't had the guts to promise by speaking it. She responded with a look in kind, a look that said she was proud of him although for what he wouldn't really know.

"Alright, here's the plan. Me, Carl, Andrea, and Fox we're going on a run for food and water. The rest of you stay here and clean up and see if you can't make this place livable. We should be back before dark. Get your stuff and let's move out, Maggie I'm taking your car, does better on gas."

The brunette nodded and tossed him the keys before turning back to Glenn to start helping him drag some of the Walker bodies away, leaving streaks and smears of blood on the floor. Carl wandered off into a corner to get another clip of ammo and a knife and Carol approached Daryl, still holding the baby in her arms.

"You sure that's a good idea? Taking Carl out on a run when Rick is…" she trailed off worriedly.

"Rick will get through this, but he needs to figure it out on his own, and Carl needs a job to do. He can handle himself." Daryl could see where she was coming from. She was a mother who had lost her child, and Carl wasn't any older than Sophia had been and in many ways still looked like a little kid. But he wasn't a boy anymore. He'd lost that during the night, and no amount of coddling or letting him go stir crazy with menial jobs was going to change it. The only thing to do now was to teach him to be useful and how to work efficiently with the other members of the group.

"Just be careful." Carol said softly and Daryl nodded to her before motioning to his group to follow him. When they left the cafeteria Daryl looked out across the wide grassy field and saw Rick hadn't moved from beside Lori's grave. He forced himself to turn away and keep going.

What else could they do?

* * *

Coming back to base camp empty handed was really the last thing Philip had wanted to do. He'd sworn up and down, left and right, here to fucking Houston, that he could get the weapon back. He could get it back, as well as any information that had come with it on its use. And now here he was crawling back home, tail between his legs, over a dozen men dead and as many more injured. It was a grim situation but what could he do? Those slippery bastards had fled into the woods, and even with Merle tracking them, they'd gotten as far as a run down cabin with a freshly dug grave out back and tire tracks leading onto the highway. Trying to run them down with the vehicles would just waste gasoline and food. They had no choice but to return to camp. They needed better gear if they really wanted to track these bitches down. Of course now he had to explain that to the doctor…and so it was with some trepidation that Philip tapped on his boss's door. The base was a flurry of activity already as Philip had given the preemptive orders to start packing up the gear to get ready to go, but he needed the boss's permission first.

The door cracked open and Philip did his best to smooth over his expression into calmness. In truth he felt a little bit like he was walking the plank of a ship during a storm, and a sea of sharks was waiting for him down below, but he couldn't let the doctor know that. The man was already unstable…overworked, overstressed, running on everything but decent food and sleep. Philip had seen the deterioration day by day, driving his boss deeper and deeper into some dark place that he wasn't sure he could ever be brought back from. His gun was strapped to his leg and he was thankful for the full clip as the doctor swung the door open to let him in, closing it behind him with a sharp snap.

"Spare me your excuses, Philip, I know you failed the mission." The man went back behind his desk, took a swig from a bottle of wine and then began to pour over the papers and open books on the table, flipping pages and striking sentences with a red marker as he went, hardly even acknowledging Philip's presence.

"I came to ask permission for the helicopters. It's the only way we're going to find them now." Philip said calmly. His fingers were twitching, trying to restrain themselves from going for the gun strapped to his leg. The nervous tension between the two men was building, despite the doctor's apparent distracted state. Philip knew better. He had a way with these situations, smelling men's true intentions and motives right from the off. Its why his manipulation of Shane had been so easy. Shane was a simple creature, driven by intense emotions of inadequacy, jealousy, and anger. Merle wasn't a complicated man either, though perhaps more canny than Shane ever was. Philip reasoned that if Shane hadn't checked in by now, the man must have died. It was of no concern of his, other than the fact that he now had no one to tell him where the group would go next. According to Merle, this Rick Grimes was their group's leader, the one calling the shots, but Merle hadn't known the man but an hour or two on a rooftop in Atlanta, not enough to know where they would go, hell, if they had anywhere to go. But the doctor…the doctor was different. The doctor's reactions couldn't be predicted, because somewhere between ninety percent of the country's population become biters and the demise of his family and the loss of the only chance he'd had to stop the outbreak…he had lost his mind and now the only thing holding him to any kind of rationality was this one in a million chance to recover the weapon. If it had been up to Philip, he'd of written him off as a causality of war and put him out of his misery long ago, but he was the only one who had any chance of solving this thing, and so he was absolutely necessary.

"Why should I?" the doctor demanded, staring up from his paperwork and looking at Philip, two sets of eyes meeting, both alike in relentless determination, but the ability to plan behind them was at two very different places.

"We need the weapon, right?" Philip tried to reason, keeping his voice light, and not allowing the severe frustration coursing through his veins to come to the surface. The doctor was a loose cannon, he'd had people dragged off to execution for minor slights in the past, Philip didn't want to be another on that ever growing list. "We know they're traveling in vehicles. Going by air is the only way we'll ever have any chance of finding them."

The doctor turned away and stared back down at the papers. At first Philip thought maybe he had made a little bit of headway in his request but all of a sudden the doctor lunged, throwing books and papers off the desk, grabbing the bottle of wine and flinging it at Philip's head. The man ducked, dropping to the floor, instinctively going for his gun, but before he could get up, the doctor already had his silver pistol out, aiming it straight at Philip's face.

"I trusted you!" the doctor hissed, an expression of pain, betrayal, and rage coating his features. "I trusted you and you failed! Again!"

Philip but both hands out onto the carpet and very slowly got up to his knees, still watching the doctor very carefully. Inch by inch he carefully got up to his feet, still holding his hands out, not going for his gun, knowing it would set the man off. He took a long breath in and exhaled deeply, beginning to wonder if it might be one of the last breaths he ever took. His entire body was tingling with that acute sense one only ever had right before they were about to die. He forced his voice to remain calm and steady even as the doctor tightened his grip on the pistol.

"My inside man was killed, probably by one of their own, there was nothing I could do to control that. The only thing I can do now is return to the field and recover what was taken from us. But I need the choppers to do it."

"And get more men killed is that it?" the doctor snapped. "I read the reports. Twelve dead, another twelve injured, including your lieutenant?" He slammed the gun down onto the desk, sending another stack of papers flying everywhere and Philip couldn't help but jump a little. Fortunately the pistol didn't go off, he might have been hit otherwise, but when the doctor looked up at him, there was a light in his eye that spoke of a very clear departure from reality.

"You…you have proven to be less capable than even my lab rats! Why do I leave you in charge of anything?" he snarled.

Philip shifted a little, his instinct to go for his gun barely suppressed. "When there are circumstances outside of our control, what is it exactly that you would have me do? I led a full on raid against their camp, but they escaped into the woods and fled the area. I left men bleeding in the dirt to pursue our enemies! I did the best that I could do. I'm confident that with the choppers we can find this group, and we can take back what is ours, and get revenge on those who have wronged us." He dared to approach the doctor who was still leaning on the desk, his shoulders shaking with either barely suppressed rage or pure insanity, both were highly dangerous.

"I want them alive! You hear me! I want them alive!" A silver flash burned through the harsh lights of the room as the doctor took his pistol and flung it at Philip as hard as he could. The man stepped out of the way of the blow, turned, and left the room, leaving the doctor to howl with rage, crashing and banging in his office as though he could physically rip it down with his bare hands. Philip actually wouldn't put it past him to try. He walked down the hall, not meeting anybody's eyes, going down into the common area and seeking out Merle who was just putting away his tray from breakfast. His ankle was still heavily bandaged from where he'd been stabbed in the raid but if it caused him pain he gave no indication. He turned to face his commander who motioned for him to follow.

"What's our time frame on leaving the base?" Philip demanded as they went back down the hall towards the dorms.

"Less than an hour. Boys are still fueling the choppers and loading up the vehicles." Merle replied. He tilted his head as he looked at Philip, noting the way he seemed on edge. It gave him a bit of comfort to know that he had a knife in the hand that was tucked into his pocket, in case the man decided to lose his temper.

"Good. As soon as they're ready, come and find me. We're pulling out as soon as they can get those birds in the air."

Merle nodded as they stopped outside Philip's door. "How do you intend to find these guys? I mean they could have gone anywhere. There's a lot of country out there for even helicopters to cover."

Philip looked at him, a menacing darkness curling through his eyes and jaw. It made Merle take a pace or two back to give them both more breathing room, but even that did very little to separate the tension.

"We know the vehicles they have. Spring is almost here, the biters are up and moving, they can't stay in one place too long. They'll be on the move. We'll find them." Philip growled. His eyes were narrowed. "You're the closest thing I have to an inside man now. Where the hell would they go?"

Merle shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Hell if I know. Last that I heard from Shane, Rick's bitch Lori was due to pop soon with his kid. They won't be running around too much after that, but if you want my best guess, follow the freaking herds. The herds always know where there's food. Those bastards track better than a bloodhound after a bitch in heat."

Merle tilted his head. "Good idea." He murmured quietly. He put his hand on Merle's shoulder. "It's good to have a man like you around."

Merle's lips twitched into a thin grin. "Mm, anything I can do to help." He said before Philip ducked into his room, leaving Merle alone in the hall. He walked back down to his own room and it was only after the door was closed that he unclenched his fingers from the knife in his pocket.

"Damn you little brother, damn you." He growled as he leaned against the door. "You're gonna get yourself and me killed and for what? For fucking what." Because this time there would be no mercy. No quarter. Philip would kill every last one of them just so their nuisance would stop and to pacify the slavering lunatic doctor upstairs. Merle didn't much care for either of their agendas, all he really wanted now was to collect Daryl in one piece and then get the hell out of here. He'd been hoping to make a clean getaway during the raid on camp, but no, instead he got a knife in the ankle from a redhead bitch, the one Shane had claimed to be screwing Daryl royally. He was looking forward getting reacquainted with her, this time seeing how she liked a knife through the ankle. Daryl would just have to understand. These people…they weren't blood. They were lying cowards who had taken Daryl for a ride for far too long, and now it was up to big brother to come in and clean up the mess.

"Sides little brother, there's always more pussy." He muttered. He stood back up from against the door and grabbed his bag off his bunk and swung it over his shoulder. Time to go to work.

* * *

"There must be hundreds of them."

All of their backs were against a wall, crouched down behind a corner of a brick building, their supply bags loaded down with food and water. They'd managed to find a grocery store that hadn't been completely looted of all its canned goods, and Daryl was starting to realize why. This place was completely overrun with Walkers. It looked like the whole damn town had been infected and was now just looking for something else to eat. This place must have fallen fast judging by the amount of the supplies left. Daryl was realizing more and more that they couldn't stay here. Even if the school did offer some measure of security, the herds would eventually find them, and rip them to pieces.

"Where do we go now? They're between us and the car!" Carl panted, his fingers shaking on his pistol. Daryl's mind spun rapidly, trying to figure out how to get the group across the parking lot and the highway safely where they'd left the vehicles.

"Nobody panic!" Andrea hissed. "That solves nothing."

Fox dared to peek around the corner that they were hiding behind. The entire parking lot was swarmed with shuffling corpses, bloody, ice crusted feet dragging the pavement, some of them so weak that they were reduced to crawling on their bellies, scraping skin off of on the asphalt as they did so. The herd in the parking lot in itself wasn't the problem, the problem was the oncoming herd right at the next building over that was coming to hem them in rapidly. The gap they had to go for the vehicles was very quickly disappearing, and the longer they waited, the worse it was going to be.

"Got no choice. Run for the car, we'll mow them down on our way out, so what." Fox hissed. She loosened her kukri knives from her belt and looked at her companions, locking eyes with Daryl last. The unspoken words there were clear. They might die within the next sixty seconds, and she wanted the last pair of living eyes she locked with to be his. She pulled her gaze away and made to dart out from their hiding place but Carl snatched her wrist at the last second, forcing her back.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't just go tearing off out there!" the boy hissed, his other hand clenched tight on his pistol.

"You wanna wait for those two groups to get together and have a party with us as the main course?" Fox hissed as she jerked her arm out of Carl's grasp.

Daryl double checked their was a bullet in the chamber of his thirty eight before giving them his attention. "She's right. We got no choice. Move, now!" he ordered.

They darted out from behind the corner and tried to move as stealthy as they could but in the end the herds noticed them right away. With a hissing choking throttle of air in their ruined lungs the corpses lunged towards them, stretching out filthy hands, bones peeking out from ice worn skin.

"Andrea!" Daryl yelled as they were immediately surrounded and cut off as they tried to reach the other side of the lot. The blonde woman didn't waste time and raised her handgun, popping off several fast, accurate shots, clearing the tiniest amount of room for them. Carl raised his weapon as well and fired on the move but the bullet went wide and struck a Walker in the shoulder. Fox lunged and struck the creature down, whacking off its head and jumping over the fallen body.

Daryl swung his crossbow forward and fired just as another corpse got in their way. He snatched the arrow free of the skull and twisted wildly, stabbing another monster through the eye, the gelatinous ball of fluid splattering on the metal tip. Carl darted around Daryl's legs and shot again, this time taking a Walker out cleanly.

"Come on!" Andrea shouted. They bolted, dodging and slashing and shooting as they went, feet scraping against the concrete as ran for their lives. Their feet drummed like horses hooves as they moved, colors and stains on the ground blurring into one as they tried to stay upright and keep moving. The only thing in solid focus was the car but Daryl's heart lurched hard when he saw that the vehicle was being assailed by more Walkers.

Fox plunged in first, striking a head with her kukri blade, sending blood and guts spattering across the hood of the car while Daryl shot another arrow from his bow and took the one by the door out. Andrea was offering cover fire as he snatched his arrow free and threw the supplies into the back.

"Carl! Let's go!" Daryl yelled as he piled into the car while the kid ran around the other side as Andrea and Fox dove inside, limbs and hair tangling. Fox lunged back and snatched Carl by the shoulder, dragging him inside as Daryl hit the gas while Walkers clawed for them as Andrea reached back to tug the door away from them. A hand was ripped free of its wrist as the tires finally grabbed asphalt and plunged the car forward. Daryl jerked the wheel hard, swerving to try and avoid a whole mob of geeks but the car nearly fishtailed and struck the edge of the group with the back bumper, causing bones to snap and blood to gush as he ran over another body. He kept his foot to the accelerator as everyone else tried to disentangle themselves.

"Everybody ok?" he asked when they'd cleared the shopping center and left the herd in the dust.

"Yeah…yeah we're ok." Fox panted as she leaned against the front seat, her fingers biting into the upholstery as she tried to catch her breath.

"I vote we don't do that again." Andrea said dryly as she pushed her messy blonde hair out of the way as she and Carl readjusted themselves and all of the bags of supplies in the back seat.

"I second that." Carl agreed.

The rest of the drive was spent mostly in silence but everyone was relieved when they showed up at the school. Daryl half expected Rick to come and greet them the same way he had when he, Maggie, and Glenn had come back last night but it was Fox who piled out to throw the gate open for the car, and quickly shut it again as soon as they were through. When they came running through the halls of the school they noticed that almost all of the Walker bodies had been cleared, and much of the blood had been wiped away as well. They went down into the cafeteria to find the rest of the group huddled around one of the tables against the cold but everyone jumped up when they heard them coming.

"You find anything?" Maggie asked as she quickly moved to help take some of the bags and set them out on the table.

"Not a lot, we'll have to go for more within a day or so. But its something." Andrea replied. They set the cans out and Carol moved to start assembling something that looked like dinner and Daryl was grateful to take the baby and tuck her into his chest. He always felt calmer when he had a hold of her, as if when he had her in his arms the world slowed down for a minute and he could just breathe.

"Where's Rick?" Andrea asked as they began to dish out the chow.

"Outside." Glenn answered. He cautiously looked over at Daryl as he spoke. "He hasn't been in since this morning."

Daryl didn't respond at first. He wanted so badly to just stay where he was until he could get something to eat and then lay back down until the baby began to cry again, but he could feel the eyes on him. Why in the hell they were all looking at him for an answer he didn't know, but he could hear Fox's words echoing in his skull, and so he reluctantly passed Maggie the baby before sliding off the table and throwing his jacket back over his shoulders.

He found Rick wandering out at the edge of the fence, aimlessly stumbling along shaking his head back and forth, and Daryl was sure that he could see ice crusting on the edges of the man's coat, but that wasn't what disturbed him most. What disturbed him most was when he was close enough to hear Rick's voice.

"Lori…what am I supposed to do?" He paused and sucked in a deep breath, letting his fingers curl around the chain link of the border fence. "No, you know I can't do that. I can't…Lori…come back please…come back inside, stay with me, we'll talk this out. It's ok."

"Lori don't walk away like that! What about Carl? We can work this out, we've done it before…please!"

Daryl backed away slowly, not giving his presence away to the man. He turned on his heel and hurried back inside and went directly up to Benjamin who was scraping the inside of a can of tuna clean. He didn't need to speak, Benjamin set his can aside and got up to follow Daryl towards the doors of the cafeteria so they could speak in private.

"I think there's something wrong with Rick." Daryl said urgently, shooting his eyes over towards Carl who was eating with Carol, Glenn, and Maggie.

"How, is he hurt?" Benjy asked quietly.

"No…least I don't think so. He's…I think he's seeing something that's not there. I went to go talk to him and he was talking to Lori." Daryl's shoulders twitched. He'd seen men go crazy before, and it almost never ended well. Whatever was happening to Rick, Daryl didn't want it to go on any longer.

"Spouses do that." Benjamin said softly with a careful glance at Carl out of the corner of his eye, folding his arms over his chest. "They'll talk to their loved ones like they're still there. Its part of grieving."

"No, I think this is different. He's talking like she's actually there." Daryl looked down at the medic questioningly.

Benjamin ran a hand through his tussled blonde hair and sighed heavily. "Look, I'm not a psychiatrist, ok? There's not much I can do for him. You can't talk someone out of crazy. Or beat it out of them." He shot a dangerous sort of look in Fox's direction who at the moment had her back turned.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Daryl growled. Benjy's next statement had his voice thick with his New York accent, and his nervousness was clearly written all over his face.

"Last night, while you and Maggie and Glenn were out, she went to 'talk' to him." He scraped his foot against the ground and carefully maneuvered a little further away from Daryl. "I heard metal banging so I went to look and I saw them fighting. Swinging their knives at each other like they were going to kill each other. I don't know what she was trying to do, I don't really care. Whatever Rick is going through…we can't help him."

Daryl's eyes narrowed. "That's bullshit." He snarled.

Benjamin crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him pointedly. "Oh really? Go out and talk to him, see how far you get. He jumped the crazy train, Daryl. He is as good as gone. I have nothing I can give him to turn him back to the way he was before Lori died. I did my best to save her, I talked to both her and Rick before the baby was born, I warned them how dangerous it was, given Lori's history with Carl's birth. I warned them there was a good chance she wouldn't make it. I tried to get Rick to understand, to brace for it. The only thing I could do now is drug him to the gills, and then he's no use to us. At least right now he can still shoot straight. But there is a very good possibility we may have to restrain him, incase he looses what's left of his mind and turns on us."

Daryl's jaw tightened. "He'd never do that. Ever. You don't know him." He growled.

"You think he wouldn't? I saw him try to kill your girlfriend last night!" he hissed. "Granted I think Fox baited him into it, I think she was asking for trouble, and I think you are too if you go out there! I hate to see Rick like this just as much as the rest of us, but you just have to accept the fact that right now he's gone. He's gone and there is nobody here that is going to bring him back right now."

Daryl stared at the man long and hard, trying to find the words for what he was feeling, which was a deep, deep sense of suspicion, disbelief, and worry. Benjamin seemed to sense this and took another pace back to give the man room to breathe before speaking again.

"For what its worth, I think Rick will pull through. He just needs time to sort through what happened. He has tremendous guilt about what happened, that he couldn't patch it up with Lori before she died. That he hurt her by killing Shane. That Carl was the one to put her down and not him. I do know him, Daryl. More than you think."

The hunter's expression softened slightly. There were no words, but there was a question there and Benjamin understood.

"I had a family once too. I left my parents for dead in the city and ran for my life. Sure, I can tell myself I'd of died if I hadn't of left when I did. I can tell myself it was what my parents would have wanted. But at the end of the day, I ran. I ran and I'm sure they're somewhere in Manhattan wandering around with blood down their faces and bones sticking through their skin. All the logic in the world doesn't change the guilt. You just learn to swallow it and move on. That's all Rick's doing. Let him. He knows we're here. He'll come back." He turned to walk away but Daryl reached and grabbed his upper arm before he could do so.

"How do you know?"

Benjamin tilted his head and almost rolled his eyes as he extracted his arm from the hunter's grip. "His kids are here. There's only one thing stronger than the bond between a man and his love, and that's between him and his offspring. It's just human nature."

* * *

The sun had long since fallen behind the horizon, pitching the school into deep darkness broken only by the cold moonlight. The grass was slick with heavy dew and ice and the temperature had taken a sharp plunge. Rick had become numb to the cold hours ago. He was vaguely aware that his body was stiff and aching, but it seemed inconsequential. He'd spent the whole day roaming the grounds, sometimes seeing Lori and sometimes seeing nothing. He heard voices echoing inside his mind, Lori's voice, her accusatory tone she always used to get when she believed she was right and she was not going to budge one damn inch. As much as that frustrated him, it was one of those little things that he loved too. It had been one of the first things he'd noticed about her all those years ago.

"We were so young then, Lori. Shane tried once to tell me that it was a mistake. That we should have just waited and seen how it went. But I was tired of sneaking around. I wanted to do right by you. I wanted to marry you, I wanted to be with you until we both died. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I didn't mean all those things I said…you have to know I didn't. I never meant those things I said…"

He could see her standing just outside the fence, dressed in clothes meant for a much warmer climate. She approached him slowly, her hands at the edge of the pockets of her jeans. She smiled for him a little and held her hand out through the fence, her fingertips brushing his.

"I know." She murmured. "I know you didn't." Her smile faded, but he could feel the heat in her hand and he leaned his body against the fence, numb to the rest of the world. This was all that mattered. It was safe here. She was alive, there was no death, it was even warm.

A sudden gust of wind snapped against his skin and his eyes fluttered. The scene around him shattered and his eyes blinked and Lori had vanished. He sucked in a deep breath of the cold air and leaned against the fence again, the chilly metal pressing against his clammy skin.

"Rick…it's not real." He heard his own voice say it, but somehow he had a hard time believing it. "If it were real…it's just not. You know its not."

But why couldn't it be real? It was as real to him as dead people walking around trying to kill them. It was as real as the pain in his neck from another woman's teeth tearing a piece of his flesh off. It was as real as the weight of the python strapped to his thigh. It was as real as anything else he'd seen since crawling out of the tomb of the hospital in King's county and finding the world devastated.

"But it's not. It's not real. If it were real she'd be alive. And you know she isn't."

The talking was the only thing holding him to reality, or any semblance thereof. Otherwise it would be too damn tempting to sink down into his fantasies and forget everything else. It would be so easy. In his fantasies, Lori was still alive and Carl was still innocent. Nothing had happened and he wouldn't have to feel the guilt and responsibility for people's lives.

He looked down at the ground beneath his feet and at the corner of his eye he caught the sight of the python. The pieces of silver that weren't covered by the holster gleamed like ice in the cold moonlight and he carefully withdrew the weapon. He could tell by the weight it was fully loaded, and he gently spun the chamber, long practiced fingers flicking the metal with ease. The clicking was pleasing to him and he carefully raised it, aiming at nothing in particular through the fence. His eyes followed the gleam of the barrel and landed eventually on the gym just outside the fence. But beyond that, he saw something moving in the trees headed. He stood there only a moment longer, his entire body clenched in horror as a herd several hundred strong kicked their way through the icy underbrush, headed straight for the fence. He turned his head and saw them sweeping around towards the entrance gate as well, but when he started backing up, he saw Lori standing just outside the fence, gazing at him with a firm look. The one she used to give him when he looked at her for confirmation, for assurance he was doing the right thing.

"Go." She murmured.

He turned on his heel and ran, bolting back up to the school. He shook his head as he did, shivering and shaking, grateful for the fence but fearing for all their lives, knowing just how low they were on bullets and how many of the monsters they had to get through before they could get to the highway.


	37. Chapter 37

_**Hello again, my wonderful readers and reviewers, I have returned with another offering for you. It's a long chapter and I am nervous and anxious to see what you guys think...cause this is where things really start to happen. The action picks up in this chapter, and it doesn't stop until the end. We're roughly...five or six chapters away from the end, and it is absolutely relentless action and feels from here until the end. Hang on guys. Shit is about to get crazy. **_

**KatlynIreneGlasse**:_ I always feel bad when I don't review evening its short, I am literally in a gas station stealing there WiFi to type this up. Great chapter I liked seeing more of Phillip and Merle, it's fun to see how they operate compared to Ricks group. Crazy train has left the station, that last scene with Lori reminded me of a picture for the Walking Dead it said and I quote, ghosts zombies, where are the vampires, it made me giggle. Okay I'm am now commencing leaving said gas station so see ya Kat_

Hah, I am the well practiced Queen of stealing WiFi from random places xD. Aye, the dynamic between Philip and Merle is definitely different than what Rick shares with his group, but then again, they're very different people. Lol, Rick did kind of tip off the bender didn't he? We shall have to see if the group can haul him back into the sanity station…

**FanFicGirl10**: _Cliffhanger! I hope they get out safe, no more casualties please! Glad Daryl, Fox, Carl, and Andrea got out alive and unharmed. Ugh Merle and "Phillip" annoy me, i hope they die a painful death, soon! Great chapter, Update Soon!_

No more casualties? But my friend…this is the Walking Dead! Of course more people are gonna die! You'll just have to hang on tight and see who its gonna be.

**Kaleiburzz**: _Oh shit. Oh shit! I really like how you're allowing Carl to step up to the plate. He needs to. It was nicely done, you. Talking about how his innocence had died that night. Update soon!_

You know in the show at first I really didn't like Carl, he always was just kind of riding on his mom and dad's coattails but in the third season he's really become a valuable member to the group. He's brave and takes the initiative and I like that a lot about him. He doesn't wait to be told to do what's needed. His innocence definitely died when Lori was killed off, both in the show and in my story too. I mean you don't just walk away from something like that without some serious damage.

**Emberka-2012**: _So Philip is not a boss. This is the doctor? This is something new._

Nope, in my story, Philip isn't the boss, it's someone else, you'll just have to wait to find out who it is. All shall be revealed soon ;)

**Emerald Gaze**: _Carl thinks he's grown enough to tell fox what to do, that's cute. No one tells fox what to do. I'm guessing the doctor is whats-his-name milton(?) Its funny considering how scared he is of the govner in show. If this is the case then i really like what u did with the titles since it looks like philip isnt actally 'the govner' in this !_!_

Hah, yeah, Carl thinks he can tell Fox what to do? Had they not been about to be eaten she'd of reprimanded him much more, but in that moment there wasn't time. But for sure, no one, not even Daryl, can tell Fox what to do. Mmmm, the doctor, I can't wait to reveal him to you guys, he is an actual charrie on the show so he's not an OC of mine, but is he Milton? You'll just have to wait and see!

**Señora Sapphire**: _Wow that was an amazing chapter! I kinda wish thr in the grocery store, there was a little more action, but even without that, it was really good! I hate seeing Rick so... Tortured! He's all talking to Lori and pretending she's still ther, but come on Rick! She's dead!(thank god!) haha :) and then Philip... I really hope you and your little group die... Really Lear you kill Dale and now you going back for more?! Come on leave them be! Gosh and same with Merle, you're so annoying! Why can't you be cool like Daryl? I mean come on! Daryl is the best human being on this earth. Haha oh my... Now you guys are really going to die... That huge hers coming for you!_

Mmm, Rick definitely tortured isn't he? He's deeply, deeply grieving still and his brain is rattled from the trauma and the stress and sometimes fantasy is a much safer place to be than reality, so he's checked out at least for a little bit. Oh Philip, Merle, they ain't anywhere CLOSE to being done with the group yet. It's about to get craaaaaaaaaaazy.

**WinterIsComing1015**: _Oh fuck me. Fuck me right in my feels. Poor Rick is losing it as eloquently as he is on the show. Daryl is of course being Daryl Mothafucking Dixon, stepping up and being an awesome leader AND surrogate papa. And Carl...we've never really talked about Carl before, have we? But he is really like a little man in a boy's body and I'm so glad that you've given him that regard in your story. I honestly think the show hints at it but I don't think Carl has had a chance to shine yet. Maybe on Sunday's ep, eh? And a HERD A FEW HUNDRED STRONG? What in the fuck-hell? Oh and this doctor fella...who da fuck is dis muthafucka? You mean there's someone who makes even PHILLIP'S pannies get in a bunch? Oh jeepers...SOMEONE ELSE to worry about!_

Oh SO MANY FEELS. Gah, writing Rick's angst is so torturous, and fun, at the same time. I'm beginning to think I have a sadistic streak… And Daryl, squeeeeee Daryl *huggles him* He really is stepping up, he has to. Rick has jumped ship off the sanity life boat and is swimming in the crazy pool, so Daryl's gotta paddle the group to shore as it were, which of course means also making sure the little ass kicker is well looked after ;) I had a hard time integrating Carl at first cause writing kids accurately for me is hard (they're always too mature xD) but Carl definitely isn't a kid anymore. I wanted to give him the chance to prove himself that he is really capable and brave enough to handle what's going on both inside the group, and all of their external pressures too. And yes the herd! Think about it. Even small towns have thousands of people. If 90% of a population in any given place was wiped out, that's hundreds and hundreds dead. And now undead. Good luck ladies and gentlemen, you're gonna need it! And the doctor! Hahah, hell to the muthafuckin' yes, this bastard is crazy enough to give Philip the heebie jeebies. I can't wait for the reveal for who he is!

**sage62442**: _All I can think about when I read this is that this story is gonna end in less than 10 chapters! asdfghjkl the feels! I had a dream about this fanfic last night. You've taken over my life. Thank you. I love you so much 3 I read this on my way to school (the bus ride is an hour). Thank you for writing the best story in fanfic history. Sometimes I look forward to this fanfc more than the TV show._

Awwwww! I am so flattered and humbled and having so many feels right now! That's just…that's just awesome. People dream about my fanfiction, are you serious? You can't be serious. You are just saying it to make me blush xD. Trust me, you are not the only one, this story has taken over my life too. I was writing so much yesterday that my fingers were /literally/ cramping but I kept going, cause I was just so involved I couldn't stop. I love you all, my wonderful readers and reviewers, you all mean so much to me. The past 3 months you guys have been my constant companions, and it's been an incredible ride. I just…I have no words to express what reviews like this mean to me, and as a writer, that's saying something.

**Shadowsgirl18**: _I so love your story! If Fox would of played in the TV series it would be 10 times better! I love your story better then the tv episodes ...I love Daryl with Fox better,,,,Carol is to old for him:) please update you write beautiful_

Well hi there new reviewer, thanks for dropping in to say hi! You know…people keep telling me that they wish they could see Fox on the TV show…I'm seriously starting to consider tweeting some of the cast members (surely not the least of which would be Norman Reedus himself) and spamming them with the link to the story…I mean I doubt they'll ever read it or anything, but I keep hearing about these authors who started out right here on this site and then write their own books and become famous and I'm just KJJSDASGUF so many feels! Ok, enough, I shall stop spamming you with my fantasies. But thank you again for reviewing, even after all this time, each and every one means the world to me =D

* * *

"Rick, what's going on?"

The entire group was startled to see the man coming running back into the cafeteria, a tensed, almost terrified expression on his face, his shoes skidding on the slick linoleum as his chest heaved for breath.

"There's a herd, right outside, we have to go, right now." His voice was half broken and half jagged with an edge of glass as his fingers tightened on the holster to his python.

Daryl immediately was on his feet, passing the baby in his arms back to Carol and went with Rick back down the halls of the school to the front glass doors. The herd was massing by the hundreds against the fence, pushing and kicking and snarling ferociously, as if they instinctively knew there was food hold up in that building. Their frozen fingers were clawing and digging at the material of the fence, pushing and shoving even as more and more Walkers piled up to form a crowd of them all trying their hardest to get through the fence.

"They'll rip it down at this rate. We can't drive through that, we'll take the vehicles up through the back, drive through the fence, and hit the highway back the way we came.

"We cant, the trees! We'll have to circle around at the edge of the herd to get to the road." Rick cursed as he slammed his hand against the glass.

"My bike will never get through that, not without getting killed." Daryl warned, looking at his friend very carefully through the side of his eye.

"Daryl, we don't have time for this. Leave it behind." Rick growled, staring right back at him.

"We need it." Daryl said in a low, serious tone. "If the highways are blocked and we need supplies in a hurry, the bike is what can get through the debris. I can get through the edge of the herd but I need cover fire."

"Then take Andrea on the bike and I'll be on the roof of one of the vehicles. Andrea has a better shot than Fox does, she can give you the cover you need." Rick ordered as they started running back to the cafeteria. Daryl nodded as they came bursting back through the room, the baby sending up loud cries of worry as the group scrambled around, shoving their belongings in their bags and throwing them over their shoulders.

"What's the plan?" Fox demanded as she twisted her fingers around the handle of one of her throwing knives.

"Andrea, you're on the bike with Daryl, lay down the cover fire while Daryl's getting through. I'm on the roof of the Jeep, Carol you drive. Maggie, Glenn, Benjamin, and the baby are in Maggie's car, Maggie you drive, you got steadier hands on the wheel. You guys go through the fence first. Carl, Fox, you're in Jeep. We swing around wide to the back, mow down the fence and then circle the edge of the herd to the highway, let's go, they'll tear it down!" Rick barked the orders like a general, a mirror of his old concentration and focus gleaming in his eyes as he grabbed up two of their supply bags in one hand and a shotgun in the other. Everyone followed him at a fast run, bursting through the front doors of the school and racing down the concrete steps towards the vehicles which were just outside but they saw with dismay that the Walkers had already pushed down one section of the fence and were spilling like ants into the yard, already climbing up into the parking lot.

"Move!" Rick ordered, swinging his pistol around and taking out Walkers with sharp, well aimed blasts while everyone else threw the supplies into the cars and scrambled inside. Fox was the last in to the Jeep even after Rick had climbed up onto the roof and Carol was piled into the driver's seat. The redhead spun around and squeezed Daryl's hand once, her green eyes burning with fierce determination before she flung the door open and scrambled inside. Daryl took off with Andrea towards his bike, the blonde already laying down cover fire as he fired up the engine.

"Hang on!" he yelled over the snarl of the motor as Andrea came up behind him and wrapped one arm tightly around his waist. Maggie's car was already spinning the grass, trying to bite through the wet, sodden terrain, getting bogged down in the mud but finally lurching forward and towards the back of the school to take out the back half of the fence. Daryl watched in a bit of stunned amazement as the little green car plowed straight through, the paint scraping off and metal of the fencing screeching against the metal of the car. The fence came down, smashing a few Walkers with it as the tires rolled over and blew past them, heading for the embankment. The tree line that hemmed their access to the highway was forcing them dangerously close to the herd and as Daryl drove the bike forward he felt Andrea shudder, unused to the shock of the movement. She squeezed his waist so tightly it was hard to breathe as she swung one arm out with her pistol and popped off shots, killing Walkers left and right while Daryl followed the Jeep as close as possible, staying within the cover fire as much as possible. He snarled with surprise in one Walker got so close that he was sure he felt the fingers close around his leg but then a boom of a shotgun spattered the brains and skull against both his and Andrea's legs and he had no choice but to just keep going, trying to get his heart rate under control and his hands steady so as to not crash. Rick was on the roof of the Jeep on his knees, spinning and swerving, popping off shots as he struggled to hang on to the slippery surface and keep his aim accurate. The herd pressed all around them, pushing and shoving and snarling, determined to rip a piece of them away, but the whole convoy made it to the blacktop and gunned their engines hard, wheeling away as fast as they could go. Rick lowered himself entirely down to his belly in order to get a better grip and Andrea returned both arms to circle Daryl's waist, hanging on for dear life as he opened up the throttle.

They drove for at least a couple miles back the way they'd come to put some distance between them and the herd but when they reached a quiet stretch of blacktop the Jeep slowed down and the whole convoy came to a stop. Daryl killed the engine to the bike and Rick slid off of the roof of the Jeep, shivering and shaking as he did so, popping open the doors to the Jeep and immediately climbing into the back. Fox piled out of the Jeep as well and ran up to Daryl, hugging him hard, burying her face into his neck for a fast second while Andrea leaned up against Maggie's car and caught her breath, trying not to show how much she was shaking.

"Nice shooting Tex." Fox commented with a nod towards Andrea who managed a weak but sincere smile, her tussled blonde hair falling all around her face, her pony tail holder lost in the mad scramble.

"Is everybody ok?" Rick asked when he managed to get some feeling back in his fingers.

"Yeah, I think we're ok." Glenn panted. He also was holding onto a gun and although his voice was unsteady his hand was firm on the weapon.

"My bike is down to fumes. We're going to have to go for gasoline if we're going to make twenty miles." Daryl said heavily as he leaned against the machine. He'd been hard pressed to leave his truck behind all of those months ago in the quarry, and he damned sure wasn't going to leave his bike, not unless it was a matter of life or death. It wasn't just for its practical reasons. He had a lot of sentiment attached to this piece of metal and even though he knew it was almost pointless, he wasn't going to let her go, not unless he absolutely had to.

"There's all kind of abandoned cars by that interstate exit we came off of when we got here, we could try there." Maggie suggested. As the wind began to pick up she shivered hard with the icy blast of air and Glenn quickly put his arms around her to try and shield her from some of the cold. The baby also began to cry again even though she was wrapped in three or four blankets. Benjamin tucked her into his chest as much as he could, trying to soothe her distress but eventually was quickly forced to retreat to Maggie's car and shut the door to block out the wind.

"We can't bring the baby there, it'll bring all the Walkers in the area around." Rick said heavily.

"It's the best place to try for gas. We'll keep the car with Benjy and the baby at a safe distance to pull out if necessary, the rest of us will start siphoning." Fox said, folding her arms over her chest, her foot scraping against the ground as she did her best to ignore the freezing wind.

"No, I don't want us splitting up. Not after that, not after we know now that there are Walkers crawling all over this place." Even as he spoke they started to see some of the staggering corpses come shuffling down the black top, dragging blackened, bloody feet as they did.

"Rick, you're in no condition to be trying to work with your hands, not after that." Carol said firmly, stepping forward towards the man. "We'll keep the vehicles at a safe distance, siphon off some gas, fill up, and go. Maggie's car still has the map, we can find some place safe to go."

Rick self consciously clenched his all but frost bitten fingers into fists and gritted his teeth. "Alright. Alright let's go, before the herd catches up."

They all piled back into the cars and without question Fox swung up behind Daryl and wrapped her arms around him. She'd be lying if she said that she hadn't been jealous when Andrea had taken her usual place at Daryl's back on the bike as they'd been making their escape. She'd known it was necessary and that there was nothing remotely like that between Daryl and Andrea, but there was still a streak of possessiveness that had made her growl with disgruntlement when the blonde woman had slid behind him and held onto him tight. She wouldn't hold that against Andrea, but all the same, she squeezed Daryl tighter than was strictly necessary when he fired up the engine.

"What you worried about?" Daryl asked, feeling the difference in Fox's grip.

"Like you don't know." Fox muttered as the other vehicles growled to life again, headlights flicking on in the deep darkness of the highway.

Daryl actually laughed, unable to help himself after their brush with death just minutes before. "Don't worry Fox. I was never into blondes, even if I wouldn't have to snatch the cradle with her." He sassed.

She squeezed his waist tightly, her nails raking against his abdomen before her teeth nicked into his shoulder. Not hard enough to cause a lot of pain, just enough to let him know what she thought. It only made another huff of laughter come rolling through his chest as he let off the brake and followed after the convoy.

The bike was damn near sputtering to its eventual death by the time they reached the interstate exit. Just as Maggie had suggested, there were all kinds of abandoned cars piled everywhere including the on ramp and the intersection nearby as well as some that had slid and wrecked into the ditches and embankments. They all turned their vehicles towards their best chance of escape, the other split of the highway that would take them Southward rather than west and carefully piled out. There were Walkers crawling around the area, but not so many or so closely grouped that they couldn't handle them hand to hand. Daryl was surprised to see that even Carol piled out, holding the battered plastic red containers they'd been using to store their emergency supplies of gasoline.

They fanned out in formation as they approached a cluster of cars that had piled up together in the intersection. Carl had his pistol out and started taking out Walkers with precision, the home made silencer repressing the sound of the gunshot. Walkers dropped like flies Carol and Maggie worked to start siphoning off gasoline. Everyone contributed to the defense as they took the gasoline back and forth to the vehicles and filled them up. It took several trips and towards the end the mobs they'd been encountering since arriving in this little town were becoming prominent, but by then they had what they needed. They piled back into the vehicles and gunned the engines, heading south on the highway as they left the increasing number of corpses in the dust.

They drove throughout the night and into the morning until they finally had to get out and stretch their legs. The convoy pulled over on the side of the highway and Rick tilted his head at Daryl to run a sweep. When the area appeared free of Walkers, Glenn came over with the bolt cutters and cut the lock on the back of a moving truck that was blocking up a large portion of the highway. When they flung the door open and jerked back, Daryl fired his crossbow out of instinct, hitting a Walker straight in the skull as he did so. Glenn reared back and slammed another one in the head with his machete, splitting the skull with a harsh cry of anger. They hauled the bodies out and let them splatter to the pavement before beckoning the rest of the group. They all climbed into the back of the truck and stretched out. Carl was holding onto his little sister and Rick was watching with a careful gaze, but there was emotion there too.

"You know I've been thinking, she needs a name." Carol said quietly from where she was resting next to Carl, her back leaning against the metal wall of the moving truck.

"She's got one." Daryl huffed back. "She's the little ass kicker." That pulled a chuckle from a few members of the group and he nodded as if to prove his point.

"Before that one sticks." Carol teased lightly. She looked down at Carl, her eyes smiling as she stroked the baby's hair. "What do you think?"

Carl shifted slightly, readjusting his grip on the baby and stretching his legs out as he did so. "I was thinking about Lori." He murmured softly. He looked up at his father and he saw the expression on the man's face. It was tense and filled with pain and distress and Carl knew that it would have been too much to bare.

"What else?" Andrea prompted gently to break the silence.

Carl tilted his head back for a moment before looking back at his father. "Do you remember my third grade teacher?" When Rick nodded slowly and sat up straighter Carl continued. "Her first name was Judith."

"Judith." Rick said, rolling the name on his tongue. "I like that."

Carl smiled, probably for the first time since his mother had died, and held the newly christened Judith closer to his chest. Fox smiled too and looked over at Daryl who's lips were twitching with barely suppressed humor.

"She's still the little ass kicker." He said before closing his eyes, ignoring the hunger clawing at his stomach. He hadn't eaten any of the food they'd brought back on the supply run and right now he was too tired to even care.

They all slept restlessly, taking shifts on watch, keeping an eye on the situation on the highway. There was an endless sea of strewn debris and wrecked cars but fortunately no Walkers in sight. Rick made the decision to let them stay there through the night rather than moving to try to build some of their strength and energy back up. Daryl was on watch while the others slept, somewhere between midnight and four am. He was about to call it in when he saw Carol coming up to the hood of the moving truck, several cans of tuna in her palms which she set on the hood and then she clambered up to join him.

"It's not much, but you wouldn't eat at all otherwise." She said, nudging the cans towards him.

Daryl shrugged but gratefully accepted one of the cans and popped the lid with his buck knife. It was cold and almost tasteless but he couldn't be bothered to care. "I'd take a raw squirrel any day, but beggars can't be choosers." He muttered as he took down the cold lumps of meat.

Carol pulled a face and he gave her a look right back. "What?" he muttered as his fingers dove back into the can.

"You wouldn't really eat a raw squirrel would you?" she asked.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Least its warm. And blood has a lot of protein and calories in it. It ain't bad for you if you can stomach it."

"I am infinitely glad I was never there to witness that." She teased. He laughed a little right along with her and they fell into an easy silence, at least for a little while. Daryl used a scarred knuckle to nudge the other can of tuna towards Carol but she shook her head.

"I had some already." She said, running her hands against her arms as they both stared out into the darkness, keeping a vigilant look out for anything moving.

"This the last of it?" Daryl asked. The first can had done nothing but make him realize how hungry he really was. When Carol nodded he pulled his hand back and licked his fingers clean, ignoring the can and pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Tomorrow we'll go for a run for more. We're bound to find something." He said softly.

She turned and looked at him carefully and he met her gaze right back, trying to judge why the air between them had just changed.

"I want to go with you." She said softly.

He shifted uneasily on the hood of the truck. "You sure? It's dangerous, even for something simple."

She nodded in acknowledgment. "I know. But I'm never going to get practice if I hide behind all of you. I did alright in the school, didn't I?"

Something twisted in him uneasily. It was like she needed his approval. It was such a sharp contrast to Fox, who had never asked, nor even wanted, the approval of the rest of the group, or even himself, for a very long time. Even now she didn't really care what the group thought of her. Her devotion to them was born now out of mutual respect and maybe even love, not as a need for their acknowledgement.

"Yeah, you did ok." When he spoke next it was carefully. "But you might be better served to keep watch over little ass kicker."

Her eyes narrowed at him and he realized that no matter how he would have phrased it, it wouldn't have gone over well, and he decided to plunge in to try and rectify the damage as much as possible.

"I ain't saying you're not capable cause you're a woman. You've killed your fair share of Walkers. But you ain't had the most experience with guns, or knives, and we have no idea what we'll find out there. If we get mobbed…"

"You want someone with a better hand." She said heavily. "I get it."

Torn in various different directions, not the least of which being the heavy disappointment on her face, Daryl took an uncomfortable plunge. "Come if you want to. I wouldn't ever try to stop you from getting experience. But fair warning. Pretty much every time we go for a run, we've damn near died. Maggie and Glenn and I, when we went for formula for the baby, we got caught in a herd over a hundred strong. It was almost as bad the last time we went for food. It's no cake walk."

"You let Fox go. You ask her to go." She clarified after a moment, and her tone was brittle as she did so.

"Fox has trained with knives for most of her life. She knows what she's doing." Daryl said heavily.  
Carol fixed him with a steely stare. "For someone trying to protect the softer sex you don't seem to mind putting her in danger."

Daryl's jaw twitched. "I don't put her in danger. I let her do as she pleases because she don't listen to anybody but herself."

Carol's lips flicked into a thin smile for a moment before she leaned onto her upraised knees. The air between them relaxed a little and when she spoke again it was softer.

"I wouldn't be able to live with someone like that. There's got to be some cooperation. Some give and take."

Daryl let out a huffed breath and watched it billow in the cold air around them. "There is give and take. She gives because she wants to. Not because she's asked. Fox has never done anything just because someone else wanted her to, and she ain't about to start now."

"What do you see in her?" Carol asked him softly, looking up at him now. "It can't just be the sex. You were putting up with her long before all of that started." She teased lightly, making Daryl roll his shoulders and duck his head, smiling sheepishly before remembering how to straighten his face.

"Why does it matter?" Daryl countered.

Carol shrugged her shoulders. "Cause I don't think anybody expected you to go soft for someone like her. She's at least ten years younger than you, Daryl. That's a little off."

Daryl shifted on the hood of the car again, watching the stillness of the night for a while. He wasn't used to being questioned like this. No one really had the gumption to do it, even before the world had gone to shit. Nobody but Merle anyway, and even then it was only in passing, just something to tease him about and so Daryl wouldn't respond. But the world looked different tonight, and so he decided to answer.

"She's eleven years younger than me, but she's seen enough of the world to know what's what. We see the world in the same way. She's just…" he struggled for the words, not really knowing how to describe it. He knew how it felt, but how to translate that raw, visceral, untamed excitement and connection into words was beyond him.

Carol seemed to understand and she gently leaned her arm against his for a brief moment, silencing his attempts to speak before pulling back. "I'm happy for you. If she's what you want, then I'm glad she's there for you."

Daryl didn't respond at first. They watched the sun slowly start to filter through the trees and, for the first time in days seeing beams of gold pierce through the perpetual grey veil. Carol was gazing out at the rising sun too and as he followed her gaze, he decided to take another uncomfortable plunge.

"I'm sorry about Sophia. I'm sorry I couldn't bring her back to you." He murmured quietly. It was something that had been bothering him ever since it had happened, and he hoped that just by saying it, the pressure he felt in his chest every time he looked at her would dissipate.

She looked back at him and actually smiled, although her eyes were moist with tears. "It wasn't your fault, Daryl. You did more for her than Ed ever did in her whole life. Don't feel bad about it." She said softly. She turned away from him as a few tears slipped from her eyes and she brushed them away. "I still miss her every day. I always will. But she had such a giving heart. She hated to see me upset whenever Ed would…" she wiped her eyes and trailed off, her voice becoming firmer as she continued. "So I go on and find meaning in what I can. Taking care of Judith and Carl. Rick when he lets me. You too." She looked at him and smiled a little although there were still tears slipping from her eyes. "It's how I get through the day."

Daryl nodded. "Get some rest. If you want to come on the run, you need to be ready for it." He murmured before sliding off the roof and going back into the truck to grab an hour or two of sleep before they would go for food.

Rick didn't let them rest for long. They only had so much daylight and nothing by the way of anything else to eat. They sat in a circle in the truck, the map from Maggie's car in the middle of the circle as they tried to figure out a likely place to go for food, and possible shelter.

"Where do we go now?" Andrea asked heavily as they stared down at the map with weary eyes. Judith was beginning to fuss in Carl's arms as he tried to pacify her with his voice. It wasn't quite time for her next feeding, and they couldn't afford to waste any of the formula.

Glenn gazed down at the map with careful calculated measures passing over his face. Even now, after all this time, he was still probably the best runner for supplies due to his timing and keen instincts, Fox a close second because of her speed and skill in close range combat. "We're not far from Cleveland, but it's too big of a city to risk trying to get into. Our best bet is one of these suburbs." Glenn said, tapping a few different areas on the map. "Its not a guarantee, but going into a metropolis is suicide." He stared back down at the map again and pointed to one in particular. "This is the closest to us, and also furthest from the city. Safer, but more likely to be cleaned out. We could double back and try this place here," he tapped another neighborhood further North, closer to Cleveland "which is more likely to have what we need."

"And more Walkers." Andrea said heavily.

"Nothing's pretty, but that's what we've got. I say he head North and go for the one that is more likely to have supplies instead of wasting gas on a weak maybe." Glenn sat back on his crossed legs and looked up, gauging their reactions, paying close attention to both Rick and Daryl.

"Alright. Volunteers to go with Glenn?" Rick asked finally. He sounded exhausted and shaken despite having slept while they were in the truck. Daryl was wondering if it was due to the responsibility as leader settling back down onto his shoulders.

"I'll go." Carol volunteered just as Daryl knew she would, but it drew very surprised looks from the other members of the group.

"Carol are you sure?" Glenn asked cautiously.

The woman nodded. "I'm sure. I can handle myself."

Glenn eased back from the map and half shrugged his shoulders, obviously deciding not to argue with her.

"I'll go." Daryl murmured. In truth he was exhausted and going for a run was the last thing he wanted to do, but if Carol was going to go, he was going to make sure she was safe. That was all there was too it.

"Alright, I don't want anymore than that. The bigger the group, the more noise, the more chance for shit to go wrong." Glenn said when Fox automatically started to open her mouth to volunteer as well. She huffed an aggravated breath and with her eyes beckoned Daryl to follow her out of the truck while Glenn and Carol gathered what they would need.

"Be careful." Fox warned softly. She wrapped her arms around Daryl's chest and pulled him down close to her. "Please be careful."

His lips brushed her cheek gently and he tucked a stray curl away from her face behind her ear. "I'll be fine." He promised. He made to pull away but she held him firmly against her for another moment and he returned her embrace.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Please…please don't go." She whispered in his ear.

He drew back from her just enough so he could look into her eyes. "I'll be back." He promised. He slid out of her grip and turned away, climbing into Maggie's car with Glenn and Carol, forcing himself not to look back, because if he did, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist her. It wasn't often she had moments of doubt like that, but he'd prove her wrong. He always had before.

They drove in silence until they came to the edge of the neighborhood on the map. It was a typical suburb, a neatly planned community with their target stores of course in the center of town. Daryl cursed the situation but gritted his teeth against saying anything. He was at the wheel looking for a safe place to stash the car. There were overturned cars everywhere, a fire hydrant that had long since run out of water was wrenched over from where a truck had smashed into it, street lights twisted and bent out of shape, pieces of newspaper and other trash either stuck to the pavement or billowing in the breeze, and of course, Walkers. Walkers staggering along the sidewalks and into the middle of the road, wandering aimlessly in their never ending quest for something to eat.

Daryl circled the grocery store's parking lot once to get a decent idea of the layout. It was fairly typical for this sort of fair but he figured they'd have better luck in the back in the stock rooms rather than the front of the store. He parked the car in the back parking lot, manfully ignoring the Walkers that started to stagger towards them as they piled out, guns and melee weapons in hand and empty back packs on their backs.

They slunk from the parking lot towards the back of the store and Glenn took his bolt cutters and cracked the deadbolt that blocked their entrance. They flung the door open and immediately jumped back, expecting something to be waiting for them. There was nothing though, and so they quickly darted inside and shut the door with a fast snap.

"Flashlights." Daryl hissed.

They all clicked on their lights and shined them into the dark space, the beams of light illuminating a dark grey floor and rows of metal shelving and torn open boxes strewn everywhere.

"Move." Glenn whispered as they heard the tell tale hissing of Walker growls. They couldn't see the monstrosities yet, but they kept in tight formation anyway, searching for any food that they could grab, picking up random cans and stuffing them into their bags as they moved, also keeping an eye out for more formula as well as any first aid supplies. They swept down the different isles, starting and shivering at every off sound, the nervous tension mounting with every passing second as they couldn't find the source of the hissing from the Walkers.

Their bags were starting to become weighed down with the supplies they were managing to get, but as they rounded another isle Glenn started when he saw a Walker clinging to the shelf. He whipped his machete out and struck the creature in the head, kicking it back, along with the shelf which shook and rattled and as Daryl swept his flashlight down the isle, he saw with his dismay a mob of Walkers heading straight for them.

"Back up, back up!" Daryl growled, shuffling them away from the horde as fast as he could and they started running down the isle when another group began to cut off their escape towards the exit.

"This way!" Carol called, heading for a cut through in the shelving. She darted through, Daryl and Glenn following, the hunter having a firm grip on his buck knife, striking anything that got too close, Glenn still snatching supplies off the shelves or floor when he could.

They doubled back around and made a beeline straight for their exit door as another mob started closing in on them again. Daryl ran straight for it and shouldered it open, Glenn and Carol pressing and scrambling at his back just as the Walkers closed in. They spilled out onto the steps and the pavement, some of their supplies dropping and rolling away but it was nothing compared to the scream that split the air in two.

Daryl wrenched around, losing skin on the rough asphalt as he instinctively fought to put as much distance between himself and the Walkers as possible. When he twisted around he saw with horror that Carol had been pulled down on the steps and a Walker had its teeth buried deep into her thigh, ripping its head back and pulling off a huge chunk of flesh.

He roared with wordless fury and wrenched his thirty eight out of his pants and fired, killing the Walker that had a hold of Carol as Glenn darted in and pulled her away. Glenn shoved her towards the car and Daryl kept shooting, forcing back the monsters that were trying to all fit through the doorway at once. He shot until the gun clicked with its now empty clip but the red bloom of rage was nowhere near satisfied. He whipped his buck knife back and forth, stabbing skulls, smashing them under foot, bashing them into the side of the building as the anger built and built and built until he saw nothing but rotted flesh and blackened blood. He was soaked in it and it wasn't enough. The smell of death and guts washed over him and he couldn't be bothered to care. The monsters kept coming and he took the butt of his gun and smashed it into yet another pale skull, cracking the face clean open, the brains spilling out at his feet. Each kill made a flash of searing heat burn through him and it felt so good he had to keep going. More and more and more, he'd kill them all. He dove back into the fray for another body, splitting open the head with his knife, twisting and pulling brains out on the reverse stab.

"Daryl! Daryl come on!" Glenn yelled. He was already in the driver's seat, the car's engine going as more Walkers were pouring into the parking lot from the front as they heard the commotion.

With another scream of wordless rage Daryl took down one last Walker, pulling it by the shoulders, shoving his foot into its back and wrenching it by the hair and neck until he'd pulled the monster's head clean off its body and threw it down into the asphalt, smashing it clean open. He grabbed his fallen knife and stuffed it into its holster before turning and running for the car, a slew of almost a dozen bodies at his heels as more just poured from inside the store towards them.

"Daryl are you ok?" Glenn panted worriedly as he threw the car in gear and hit the gas, the tires squealing and smoking as they struggled to bite pavement. Bloody hands were streaking and smearing the glass but at last he shot forward, skidding and swerving as he did, knocking Carol around hard who was stretched out in the back seat, her leg gushing blood all down the leather interior, spilling onto the floorboards like a red river.

"Fine, drive straight!" he snarled as he dropped down onto the floorboards to keep Carol from rolling off the seat. He was already jerking out of his jacket and then his undershirt. With his teeth and buck knife he sliced off both sleeves, one which he immediately tied around Carol's upper thigh to provide a tourniquet for the bleeding. The other he kept unfolded and tied it around the bite itself. Carol winced as he cinched down the fast made bandage, blood quickly soaking through the sleeve, staining the fabric scarlet red.

"Daryl…" Carol panted, her voice screwed up with pain. Her hands were fumbling at her sides and eventually latched onto his. "Daryl it's ok."

"Shut up." He growled. He couldn't take this. Every fiber of his being screamed that this couldn't be happening, and yet it was. It was happening, clear and bright and as bloody as the fluid dripping down the seat and onto his boots. The anger that he thought he'd dissipated from his butchery of the Walkers was roaring back with a vengeance and all he wanted was to tear more heads free of their shoulders and use them like baseballs but there was nothing to take his rage out on. Only the weak, shivering body of Carol at his side as her fingers wound around his hand and forced their way through his clenched grip.

"It's ok." She said through pain clenched words. "It's alright. I chose to come. I wanted to provide for the group. This wasn't your fault." Even as she spoke tears streamed down her face because no matter what they said to each other, no matter what they tried to do, everyone knew they'd be burying another member within hours. From the front seat Daryl could hear Glenn sniffling as he struggled to drive straight and not wreck the car as he guided them back towards the highway.

"Just don't…don't leave me on the side of the road. Don't bury me there." She whispered. Her head rolled back as the tires of the car hit a bump and the frame of the vehicle jarred, causing a wave of pain to roll through her.

Daryl's entire body seized. He couldn't even begin to think about that, all he could see, all he could feel, was what was right in front of him. Carol's free hand bit into the side of the seat, her fingers curling with agony as she tried to keep from crying out in pain. He didn't know where the words came from, they sounded nothing like himself. He could feel his throat choked with tears.

"Where?"

When the car steadied over the road again she managed to open her eyes and suck down a breath to answer. "If I can't be buried with my daughter, I don't want to be buried at all. Light me on fire. Set me free." She whispered. She rolled onto her side again, trying to ease the pain and pressure on her leg and Daryl found breathing all but impossible.

"Carol…we don't burn our dead." He whispered. He felt nauseas even thinking about it and all at once he felt like he might lose his mind. He couldn't even begin to know how to handle it, how to talk about this.

"I hate the ground." She panted, staring up at him but not really seeing him, seeing something past him, something only she could see. "Its cold and dark and suffocating. I don't want to spend eternity there." She groaned again with pain as the car struck another bump. "If I can't be with my daughter, then I don't want to be trapped there forever."

Daryl choked on another breath, trying his best to stem the tears that were flowing past his eyes despite his best efforts. Even when Sophia had died it hadn't been like this. He hadn't cried like this since he'd come onto a rooftop in Atlanta and found only a severed hand and a bloody pair of handcuffs instead of his brother, and even then after a minute he'd stemmed the tears, but now…now he couldn't. They tracked down his face like stinging rivers and no matter what he did he couldn't make it stop. His heart felt like it was being ripped free from his chest and put through a meat grinder as he watched Carol roll back so she could face him better.

"Shh, Daryl, don't cry." She whispered, her voice still strained with pain, but there was less fear now. "It's ok. It'll be ok. I promise." She raised her palm and placed it against his cheek her fingers brushing the edges of his hair, ignoring the grit and grime and spattered blood and guts he was now covered with. "You're bringing me back to say goodbye. It's all I could have asked for."

"Carol don't…stop." Daryl choked. He couldn't stand to listen to her speak anymore. Every word was just a knife between his ribs, digging into his heart, slowly killing him.

But she didn't listen. She mustered her strength and tightened her fingers in his hair. "This is not on your conscious, Daryl. It could have just as easily been you or Glenn and I'm glad it wasn't. This happened for a reason. God has reasons. It's ok. It's ok." She said it over and over again while Daryl ducked his head and sucked in a deep trembling breath, trying so hard not to scream because he was afraid that if he started he might never stop.

When they finally came back to the highway it was far too soon and yet so much time had past already. Daryl climbed out of the car first and then lifted Carol into his arms. The rest of the group piled out of the moving truck to greet them but then they saw Daryl carrying Carol. Andrea choked and Carl's face immediately twisted into an expression of sadness. Rick was stunned, disbelief written all over his face. Benjamin had Judith in his arms but when he saw what was happening his face became a mixture of devastation and pain, Maggie ran to Glenn and hugged him hard and he returned the embrace, both of them beginning to sob as Daryl carried Carol to the truck and laid her inside. He climbed in beside her and pulled her away from the entrance to keep her out of the wind and then he saw the eyes that he both needed, and was afraid to see.

The green gems were cut with deep, deep sadness. She looked up at him, a mixture of her own grief and pain for him all over her face, as well as her indecision of whether to go to him or give him space. In the end she crawled across the space of the truck and pressed her shoulder against his, and even though he did not turn to her, he didn't pull away and was silently grateful for her presence. He felt like at any second he would shatter at her touch, but also like it was keeping him together. It was as though he were made of glass, standing on the very tip of a knife, the point digging into his body and yet threatening to send him to the ground in a million pieces.

The group came back up into the truck, all of them crowding around Carol as close as they could, murmuring their pain and sorrow and apologies, all the while she tried to soothe their discomfort even as her own physical pain began to magnify. Benjamin had passed Judith to Maggie and now he was digging in his bag, looking for something and when he finally found it, he turned to Carol.

"Carol. I've seen what the fever can do. It's painful and it is not slow. I have something that can make it easier. Faster. You will feel nothing. It's your choice…I just wanted you to know…" his voice was shaking even as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

Carol took the kid by the hand and ran her bloody thumb against the back of his hand and his wrist. She nodded her head and Benjamin let out a shaking breath. "That will be better." She said finally. "But I want to say goodbye." She reached up and swiped away his tears with her thumb carefully. "Be brave, Benjamin. You have it in you to face this world. You're not alone anymore."

He carefully passed Judith to Rick who accepted the wiggling bundle wordlessly. The medic reached down to give Carol a soft kiss on the forehead, his long fingers running through her short clipped hair before he retreated a little to start getting his cocktail ready and the rest of the group pulled in close. Carol's hand reached and found Andrea's hand first, her weak fingers curling around the blonde's despite the growing frailty in her limbs.

"Andrea, you've come so far since when we first met. Never stop fighting. I know its so hard at times, but listen for what's right. You will know it when you hear it." Andrea nodded and she reached down to kiss Carol's cheek, tears still running down her face.

She looked and found Glenn who's eyes were red and just one look set the tears off again but she managed a small smile for him.

"Glenn you would have been one in a million in a crowd before the world ended. But you've become indispensable to us now. Watch out for them. Keep them safe. Hang onto Maggie and the others. Don't let go."

Glenn shook his head, his face screwing up as he tried to stop the all out sobs that were coming from his strangled throat. Carol ran weak fingers through his messy hair and soothed his cries gently. She then took Maggie by the hand.

"Watch over him. He will need you on the hard days. Show him the things he doesn't know. Learn from each other. Don't fight over petty things. It's not worth it."

Maggie nodded, stifling a sob as much as she could. She leaned down into Carol briefly before sitting up, wiping away her tears, her other hand firmly entwined with Glenn to hold her steady.

When she reached to take a hold of Carl she brushed away his tears with shaking fingers and even though more fell she managed to smile for him.

"You're strong, Carl. So much stronger than you know. You have it in you to make or break this group. You look after your little sister and your dad. You take care of them and make sure they don't turn cold. You can do it, I know you can, and your mother knew it too. Thank you for being my little girl's best friend." She hugged him with as much strength as her weakened frame would allow and then she turned to Fox.

"You watch out for him." She panted, flicking her eyes towards Daryl and then back towards Fox. "Make sure he stays as the man he is now. Not who he was before."

"I will." Fox whispered, leaning down and pressing her cheek against Carol's, a solitary tear falling from her green eyes. Daryl could feel her shoulders shaking but there was a firm resolution in her eyes beneath the sorrow.

"Rick." Carol turned her head to look the man in the eye who appeared to be on the verge of tears. His shoulders were shaking but when Carl's palm found his cheek his eyes closed and he stilled a little under her touch. "So much has been asked of you, but you can bear it. You do not have to bear it alone. Look after them and they will look after you. Anything that happens, don't hold it inside. Share it with the others. They are willing."

"I will. I promise." He whispered. He tucked Judith against his shoulder and leaned down and kissed her forehead as her eyes closed briefly, tears slipping down her cheeks, her lashes heavy with the silver droplets. When she opened her eyes again she found Daryl and he thought that his heart might break right then.

"Daryl you listen to me. You're stubborn and it's helped you survive all this time, but you have to try and believe me. Nothing that happened was your fault. You went further for me and my little girl than anybody else ever had. You need not ask for forgiveness. There is nothing to forgive. You are a good man, and every good thing you have in your life you deserve. You deserve it and so much more. You were so lucky to find yourself when the rest of us were losing ourselves in this world. Don't let go. Don't let go."

Daryl choked on his own breath and leaned down against her, hiding his face to stop the rest of the group from seeing the tears. When he finally did pull back he scrubbed at his face furiously with his arm, biting the inside of his cheek to send a bolt of pain through him to jerk him back.

"Carol." Benjamin's voice was raspy, almost unintelligible as he carefully approached her, a small needle in between his thin fingers, full to the brim of clear fluid. Her eyes followed the needle towards Benjamin's face and then gazed up almost sightlessly at the ceiling.

"Wait." She panted softly. "Let me see Judith." She whispered.

Rick carefully passed Carol the little bundle, laying her in the crook of the woman's arm. Judith wriggled uncomfortably as Carol gently placed a hand on her chest and then kissed her soft downy curls. "You be good for your daddy and your brother, and uncle Daryl and the rest of the family, ok? They're not used to a little one keeping them busy. And when you get older they'll tell you all about what life was like right now, and when you think of me, it'll be as the person I became, not the person I was. Don't ever worry. They'll protect you from everything until you're strong enough to protect them. You're lucky, Judith. There's no other family who would ever fight for you the same way this one will." She reached over and kissed the baby's cheek softly and then slipped onto her back again, her body screwing up with pain as the fever began to sink down into her bones. Rick carefully took the baby and held her against his chest while Benjamin took her hand gently, searching for a vein in her arm. Carol began to whisper softly to herself and Daryl heard the snatches of a prayer and he wondered how after all this time and all of this tragedy she could believe in God, but he was grateful she had that as a comfort. His heart felt ripped free of his chest and he couldn't stop watching as Benjamin slid the needle into her skin, pricking a vein so blood leaked into the vial before he sent the poisonous concoction into her body.

It took less than a minute before her chest began to stop rising and falling. Her eyes were closed and she looked as though she were sleeping, entirely at peace, no pain or suffering through her body anymore. Benjamin felt for a pulse at her neck and wrist repeatedly and when he finally looked up at Daryl, the hunter instinctively knew. His body seized and his fists squeezed tight, his shoulders shaking violently as he struggled to keep from going to pieces. He hated all of the eyes on him but he also was afraid to walk away, not knowing what might happen to him if he did.

Somewhere in him he found the strength to move. He picked up Carol's body in his arms and maneuvered her out of the truck and onto the black top. He had said to set her on fire…to set her free. And he would.

He chose a car that had an almost full fuel tank. It was a waste of gas and he didn't care. He almost felt numb as he laid Carol inside and shut the door before taking a piece of his undershirt and cutting it free with his knife before stuffing it down into the gas tank, just a small piece of the fabric remaining outside.

"Daryl, what are you doing?" Andrea asked as the man worked methodically at his task.

"She didn't want to be trapped in the ground." Glenn whispered. "Its what she wanted."

Daryl took his lighter out of his pocket and flicked the switch. The flame sparked up from the little piece of metal and he held it to the strip of cloth hanging from the gas tank. It caught fire eventually and the flame quickly spread.

They all ran, backing up at least twenty feet and by the time they turned around, the sound of an explosion shook the crusted ice off of the nearby trees. Daryl turned and saw the car completely up in flames, burning like a fireball that had crashed down from the heavens onto the blacktop.

"Come on. The Walkers are coming." Rick said, very carefully touching Daryl on the arm as he stood there watching the car burn. But still he didn't move. Not for many long moments. Not until he felt someone else come up behind him.

"She's free." Fox whispered.

Daryl turned to her and wordlessly walked towards his bike, Fox following at his heels as he did so. He followed in line with the convoy but before they rounded the bend he twisted around for one last look at the firebrand he left in his wake, knowing that there was a piece of himself burning right along with her. He couldn't hear it over the roar of the motorcycle's engine and the wind screaming past his ears, but overhead there was a distant chopping of the air from a helicopter's blades.

_**A/N: I think it goes without saying I don't really need to ask for reviews, but I'm craving to know what you guys think. Also, if you're interested, I wrote Carol's dying and death scenes to the song 'Have We Lost' by Flyleaf. Highly recommend you check it out. Alright guys, lemme know what you think! **_


	38. Chapter 38

_**Wow. Well guys...that last chapter was...I'm grateful for all of you who wrote in and told me how you think, cause I was REALLY nervous about killing someone off who hadn't been killed off on the show, especially one of the long standing members of the group. So, I'm glad that it went down the way it did so to speak. And the action doesn't let up. We are hurtling down hill towards the end, hang on tight!**_

**WinterIsComing1015**: _OK...ok. Ok. Ok. So...ok. Let me preface this first by saying that, I don't like Carol. Never did, and I personally feel that she's absolutely USELESS on the show. She's weak, she hasn't changed enough to be a valued member of the group, and what in the FUCK was she thinking by volunteering for a run? She has NO skills and it was PURELY PRIDE that made her volunteer to prove "I can do it." No, no you can't and NOW look what happened? You got killed, you've added to EVERYONE'S grief and now Daryl is SUPER brokenhearted, when had you had an ounce of rationality you would have stayed your ass where you belonged and NOT jumped in front of a speeding train when you're not sure you can fly away. UGH! FUCKING CAROL! ...BUT, with that being said, I will say that I WAS touched by the over emotionality of this scene and, I will also grudgingly admit that it was particularly sad because Carol had been with the group since day one. But, I'm not mad at you :-) Frankly, I had an inkling early on you were going to kill her and I was like "man, fuck it, g'on and kill her" but because you're SUCH a fantastic writer, you actually got ME - Carol's public enemy number 1 - to be SORT OF sad that she got killed (even though she's dumb and weak and brought it on herself and brought added unnecessary grief and tragedy to the group but whatevs). WELL DONE - you managed to melt my icy cold Carol-hatin' heart. :-)_

Ya know Carol seems to get a lot of hate. I'm not entirely fond her character either, but I do like her interactions with Daryl, mostly just for the opportunity to see Daryl get a little soft, but as far as axing her in my story…it had to be done. This is the Walking Dead…people die. The group is howling their protests but it falls on deaf ears. In my mind, it wasn't purely pride that made her want to volunteer for a run. She wanted to contribute, to try and add something to the group when she could see how shaken Rick was after what's happened. Of course it was a mistake, but we can all be Captain Hindsight now can't we? But I am glad, I am so GLAD, that I was still able to get some emotions out of you after killing off your least favorite character. The Muse's ego is so stroked right now, you have no idea, I'm in here trying to get him to stop congratulating himself. Enough already you cocky bastard. Anywaaay, again, I am quite pleased to know that although there were no tears split on your part, at least there was a twinge of sadness for your least favorite charrie gettin' the ax. Awesome. XD

**sage62442**:_ Several several several things: -When this story is completed, definitely tweet the link to all TWD people. Norman Reedus (and others) and definitely Robert Kirkman. Every Verified account on Twitter relating to The Walking Dead. We will help! I'll spam them with the link and tag you in the Tweet so they know you wrote it. I will definitely help you out! You need to be discovered! I also recommend you writing an ORIGINAL story. Still on fanfiction, of course. But I'd like to see a completely original story from you, I think that would be sweet. Carol... when Fox said "I have a bad feeling about this". I thought either Daryl would get hurt or the Governor's people would attack... I definitely didn't expect Carol to die! I cried like a baby, no joke... and I'm so glad you have a good taste in music (Flyfleaf) I also want to praise you again, for writing such a great story. I remember a few months ago when I read it and didn't review...I love you! I know this is an unusually long review for me, but I have a lot of time on my hands today.._

Awwww! You are just so awesome! All my reviewers and readers are awesome, but offering to help me try and get my little fantasy off the ground is just incredibly sweet and wonderful and I would totally hug you right now if I could. Like, football style tackle hug you. Cause that's just awesomeness. Aaaaaand, just an FYI, I have written several original stories! Novels no less. Not as long as Wildflower (this has been my longest work to date… WHAAAT!?) but I am in the process of doing a very lengthy original story that does take place in a zombie apocalypse and I would absolutely LOVE to bring it to you guys for you to see. So when Wildflower is done, I'll see about using to post it chapter by chapter OR I'll find some other forum and I'll definitely send all of you the link. Awww you cried when Carol died!? YAAAY. I always love getting those strong emotions from my readers. I am so pleased, you have no idea, and I'm also really really thrilled to hear that it was unexpected. I was afraid people could maybe have seen it coming… I write for myself primarily, but if ever I can bring it to people and have them love it…that's just…its not just the icing on the cake, it's starting to become the cake too, especially when the work is as brutally honest and gritty as something like Wildflower. So thank you for reading, and reviewing, and please feel free to leave reviews as long as you like, I enjoy them very, very much =)

**FanFicGirl10**:_ Well yes this is TWD but that does not mean people have to die in every chapter :) I never liked Carol so i won't say i cired for her, i cried for Daryl. I agree with Carol (I never thought i would say that) i would rather get burned than be underground. I hope Daryl and Fox learn from this, hell everyone; just hold your loved one like it was the last time with them cus in this new world that could be true. Sad chapter, Update Soon!_

Awwww, more tears! Yay! Even if they weren't for Carol (which I knew many of them wouldn't be because she seems to get a lot of hate…) but I'm still glad that they were there. I think they've definitely had a major wakeup call. Nothing is promised. Something simple can turn into a tragedy, and so never take anything for granted, even the bad times.

**Guest**: _Wow, I was not expecting this chapter...Brilliant as usual though. Can't wait to read more!_

Yay! I'm thrilled to know that this was unexpected, because seriously, I really thought people might have been predicting it. Maybe it was just because I knew about it all along…

**Saphireblue987**:_ Oh man! That was so heavy. I love Carol. You did her GREAT justice though. I love the fact that Daryl cried..I honestly wasn't expecting that. I hope things get better for them! Thanks again for feeding the greed:)_

YAY! Someone has some love for Carol! I'm not super fond of her charrie, but I don't hate on her either, so I'm glad to hear from someone who likes her =) I really did my best to do justice by her, because she does mean a lot to the group, but especially to Daryl. And yes indeed he did cry. He's been through a lot and there just wasn't enough left in him to push it away anymore. I always love to feed the greed, it's just as rewarding for me as it is for you =)

**Emberka-2012**: _It's so sad. Carol for each member of the group found the necessary for him words._

It was really sad, but I definitely wanted Carol to have parting words for each member of the group. She's been with them since the very beginning and she knows them well, and in really charged situations like that, those words can have a lasting impact and could help them in the end.

**hayleyjune13**: _oh my goodnesss, soooooooooooooooooooo sad. :(_

Indeed, it was very tragic. I'm glad there appears to be no dancing on Carol's grave by my readers, I was slightly afraid that might happen…

**Kaleiburzz**: _Oh, fuck yes! Thank you! This sounds bad, right after the whole feeling-sorry-for-Carol-because-she-just-died thing, but I'm really glad you got rid of her. She was pissing me off to no end. My eyes were narrowed to slits when I was reading that part where she's all like "What do you even see in Fox? Blah blah, love me instead because I'm so frail, blah." Well... okay, that might not have been exactly how it happened but that's what I was processing as I read. Lol. I do like how you did it though. Though I really hate her, I can't exactly blame her for loving Daryl. I mean, the man is a fucking sexy beast. Mmm... Norman Reedus... Anyway! At least she died being useful to the group. There's her "noble" shit that she wanted so badly. I was sort of wondering if you were going to kill her on the drive to the group so that it would've been only Daryl in her last moments. I thought you were going to have her ask for a kiss, and it would've been a little taken-to-the-grave secret. That would've been sweet. Oh wells. The scene was still pretty kickass. I loved how Carol requested fire. Exactly what I would've wanted too. A clean break. The whole exploding car thing was a nice touch. It reflected nicely on how chaotic Daryl's emotions were in that moment. Emphasized it. It was cool. But, oh shit. The helicopter... They found them! Oh no! Please don't kill anyone of importance. Feel free to dispose of Andrea, though! That'd be good. Lol. On a side note, are you going to incorporate Michonne into this story? You said Nay on the prison because you wanted to put distance between the show and the fic so I'm curious. Blah blah blah, update soon, blah._

I definitely viewed Carol as a mother figure to Daryl, so that conversation while they were on watch was to me her trying to look out for him, and being a little questionable about Fox. She's definitely not the type of girl that Carol would be comfortable with, so she was just voicing that in her own way, as a mother would do, so it wasn't so much as her trying to put a wedge between him and Fox for her own benefit, as it was her trying to look out for him (although I agree, Damn. Norman Reedus, you are breaking so many hearts with your sexiness. Its criminal.) You know I /really/ considered that whole scenario you were describing if it would have just been Daryl at her side when she died, but in the end I chose to play it the way I did because I think it would have crushed Daryl's spirit even worse if he hadn't been able to bring her back to the group. And yes, death by fire, and an exploding car no less. It was definitely a reflection of Daryl's emotional state at the time, the chaos and the pain and the destruction of yet another loss of someone he cares about. And yes indeed! They are about to be found and the conflict will be…well, you shall just have to wait and see now won't you? ;) As far as Michonne is concerned I am loving her character in the show (she reminds me of Fox a bit), but because I first made this plot when I didn't know about her character (hadn't seen the 3rd season when I started) I didn't incorporate her then, BUT, she /might/ make an appearance. Maybe. We'll see. ;)

**oXxgeorgiaxXo**: _It's great that you showed Daryls feelings towards carol just before she died. It proves that all though he is supposed to be the tough guy , it doesn't stop him from having a heart and caring for people. Great chapter and I'm looking forward to more. Xxxxx_

Daryl for sure keeps his emotions close to the vest, even after all this time, but I think the loss was just too much for him to try and hide anymore. After all this time, after everything that's happened, I don't think he could be bothered trying to hide it anymore. He definitely does have a heart, a big heart, but he's still wounded and scarred and so things have a different affect on him than they might other people.

**TWDLDN**: _Wow, just WOW! I have read all of the chapters and I have to say I am enjoying this as much as if not more than the TV show. Another thing is that whenever I watch the show I keep expecting to see Fox. I don't think Daryl and Carol make a good couple anyway, whereas with Fox they are perfect for each other. Keep up the good work!_

Awwwww YAY! I'm just always stunned speechless for a moment when people say that they like my story as much/or more than the actual show. That just floors me EVERY single time. And then of course when they say they wanna see Fox in the show I am jumping with glee. Again, that's just…wow. I love that so much, you just don't know. I could go on and on about that, but I'll just let you get to reading hm? I think that's what you all came here for, I'm just glad you're out there letting me know how much it means to you =)

* * *

They drove all day, still heading South, following a dizzying, aimless twist of black top and debris, but as the day wore on, the weather became worse and worse. At first it was just a light snow but then heavier and heavier, now almost to the point where it was sleeting right on his and Fox's back. It was all Daryl could do to keep the bike from toppling over and spinning out on the slick road. His fingers were numb from how hard he was clenching the handles, barely able to control the hot thrum of anger and pain rolling through him and still the only thing he could comprehend was why? Why had he let her go, why had this happened, why couldn't he have saved her? Why had he cared about her in the first place, why had they been thrown together, why had God or fate or whoever wasn't really there twisted his life with hers and her kid's so he had been forced to care. What the fuck had he ever done to deserve this?

"Daryl!"

Fox's voice jolted him back into consciousness and he realized that the convoy ahead of them was slowing down. He killed the speed on his bike and they came to a rest on a piece of highway that was rolling through a set of gentle hills covered in what had once been well kept farmland. Trees without leaves stood still as statues but were pummeled with the incoming flurries and ice raining down. More paint chipped off of the already broken down fences at the edges of the fields as the ice continued to hammer away at them. They'd crossed over the border into Indiana several hours ago but it wasn't like anybody was keeping track. The storm that was hailing down on them was chilling them to the bone and it didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon.

"What's going on?" Fox asked as they swung off the bike and stretched their legs on the black top as the others piled out of the car.

"Gotta find a place to stop for the night. You two can't be out in this weather anymore. One of these houses should do fine. We'll clear it of any Walkers and haul our stuff in. Try to get some food in our stomachs and then sleep." Rick sounded more like himself now than he had in what felt like eternity and the smallest amount of tension slipped out of Fox's shoulders. If Rick had been jolted back to reality by any means necessary…then at least they had someone calling the shots. Hopefully with a clear head. Or at least as clear as it could be in this state of affairs. They all hurried back into their cars to get the hell out of the storm and Rick's Jeep took the lead towards a large farmhouse situated in the middle of the surrounding fields.

When they parked the cars just outside the porch, Daryl was ready and willing to clean the whole thing out by himself, just to get his blood flowing and give him something to take his frustration out on. It was three stories tall, the windows boarded up, a heavy duty chain on the door. Glenn cracked it with his bolt cutters and Daryl flung the door open hard, sweeping in with his crossbow at the ready. Rick and Fox followed after him and they all fanned out, moving swiftly from room to room. They found the house to be empty, but when they tapped the hall door that they led to the basement, they heard an all too familiar hissing noise. Daryl readjusted his crossbow around his shoulders and pulled his buck knife free from his belt and nodded to Rick who pulled the door open with a sharp jerk.

Walkers immediately tried to shove their way through. Daryl took one out easily, the blade sinking straight through the bone right between the eyes. Rick struck the other with his machete, and the third Carl sent to hell with a quick shot from his silenced pistol.

"Probably the family that used to live here." Andrea murmured as they started to work to drag the bodies out and throw them outside, burying them loosely in the snow so as to not let the rotting smell attract anything else towards the house. When the bodies were dealt with, Daryl and Fox went down into the basement and although there was nothing left by the way of food and fresh water, they found a generator.

"Wanna try it?" she asked him softly. He nodded and flipped the necessary switches. It took a minute but the machine whirred to life and as they came running up the stairs Andrea hit the switch on a lamp and they all stared in amazement as the bulb flickered and began to glow.

"I can't believe it." Glenn said, staring at them all with disbelief. "Do you think it will heat the water?"

"We can try." Rick said. Immediately Glenn rushed into the kitchen as Andrea killed the light as the kid urgently tried the tap. At first there was only the sound of gurgling water through the pipes, but eventually a rusty stream began flowing through. As he opened the flow of water higher the stream became clearer, and after a minute or two, they saw steam rising from the stream.

"Hot water!" Benjamin howled with delight, spinning in excitement with Judith in his arms.

They all took their turns with the hot water, Fox and Daryl waiting patiently until everyone else had used what they liked. At this point Daryl was all but numb, and even the promise of hot water couldn't shake him from his stupor. Waiting with nothing to do was slowly eating away at his senses and his brain and the thoughts inside his head were only getting louder and louder. He barely felt Fox's hand on his arm, guiding him upstairs to the bathroom. She nudged him inside the bathroom towards the claw foot tub but he didn't move after she shut the door. She let him stand there wordlessly while she twisted the knob on the tap and got the water going, putting a stop in the drain. She approached him slowly and put her hands on his chest. She could feel him trembling even beneath his jacket and she carefully worked him out of the cloth, letting it hit the floor. He was still covered in gore from the killings earlier in the day from his hair line to the toe of his boots, but it wasn't just his clothes. His skin was streaked with filth from the road, blood from the killings, just the perpetual wear and tear of their lifestyle on the run and since getting wet in this cold weather was risking hypothermia, even sponging off was barely an option. She stripped him of all his clothes, methodically pulling each garment off and letting it hit the floor. He shivered at the chill air but it was as if he'd forgotten how to move.

"Come on," she coaxed, pulling him by the hand towards the tub that was almost full by now, to the point where she shut the water off as the last of the hot water was gone. He lowered himself into the steaming vat of water, hissing at the sharp touch as it sluiced over his skin. It was a shock to his senses, almost like a slap to the face, and it actually made him shiver at first, until Fox maneuvered him into leaning back against the heated porcelain so more of the water covered over his chest and shoulders.

"You don't have to do this." He said quietly as she picked up one of the washcloths and a bar of soap and started scrubbing off the grit, moving him to her liking as she saw fit.

"I know. But I don't feel like leaving you alone either." She said, her tone less soft now. She dunked the rag into the water and had him lean forward and she set to work on lifting the dirt and grime away from his back. It didn't matter how many times she saw them, the scars there made her stomach twist. He had never told her what caused those wounds, but she could tell from their severity and their longevity that whatever it had been was likely life threatening when he'd received them. Certainly enough to cause intense pain for a long time. His skin was shivering almost uncontrollably as she gently ran the cloth against his back, taking her time as she washed the dirt away.

"I'm not gonna leave or anything." He said, wincing slightly when she moved to the small of his back. "It's not like before."

She sighed and looked up from her work, meeting his eyes for a long time. "I know." She murmured. "For your, or for me."

He realized then that she wasn't unaffected by this either. For so long they'd been on the run and even when people had died yes she'd been saddened, but he realized for the first time she was truly mourning the loss. Maybe because now they had a second to just breathe and it was really hitting her the gaping holes that were being torn through their group bit by bit as one after another of them fell.

She ducked the washcloth back into the water and kept working on getting him clean, eventually getting her hair and arms wet as she did so. "I hate it when I can't believe my own words." She started softly.

"What do you mean?" He leaned back against her grip and looked her in the eye again.

"What I said at Lori's grave. That it doesn't matter how many of us they take. That we'll fight to the last man, and when they kill the last of us, we would have gone down fighting."

"And we will." He murmured. He reached his hand out of the water and cupped her cheek, dampening her skin and leaning his forehead against hers gently. "And you said something else too." He continued. "That as we fight for what we have left it's how we honor those we lost. That was true, Dahlia. We can't let go of that. Not now."

He didn't know where the strength had come from to say it. Something about seeing her shaking, seeing her resolve cracking, it forced him into trying to fix it. Because if she shattered, he would too, and there would be nothing left to hold him to sanity anymore. The gaping hole that had been ripped through his chest was still there, it was still bleeding, but the pain was starting to dim, just slightly. A deep darkness was washing over him, but it was not despair. It was the darkness of a hot night in the middle of July in Georgia and though warm and almost suffocating, it was not the intense burn of the sun at noon. It was almost soothing. An acceptance, a realization that Carol was gone and they had no choice but to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He never thought he would miss those insufferably hot nights, but for all his life he'd lived with him, and the memories were strong. His breathing evened out and very slowly, the pain began to ebb.

Tears spilled down her eyes and she closed them, trying hard to stop herself from shaking. He just held her to him and steadied her until she could get her eyes open and look at him, crystal tears gleaming with emerald tones as she gazed back at him. Everything she could have ever said was in her eyes. Her wonderment, her fear, her love, her pain. For so long she had carried the stress and strain of so many others, in the heat of fierce moments when the world was rattling itself to bits around their heads. But it was always here in the quiet where she cracked. He reached his second hand forward and ran his fingers through her hair which had grown so much that down to her jaw and the back of her neck was entirely brown, the rest a messy shade of reddish pink.

He leaned forward and kissed her gently, tasting the saltiness of her tears and the curled edge of smoke and pain on her lips. He could feel her shaking and so he just held on gently until she pulled back and managed to wipe her eyes and push her hair over to one shoulder, staring down at the tangled strands for a moment before looking up at him.

"Thank you." She murmured.

Later in the evening the group was pulled close around the fireplace in the large sitting room. Daryl had Judith in his arms as he leaned against the sofa, Fox sitting above him, occasionally bumping his shoulder with her leg while he nursed the baby. It hadn't even really been a question once he and Fox had come downstairs, clean and scrubbed free of months worth of dirt and gore, he had scooped the baby up from her little box and cradled her until she started to fuss for dinner. Rick had watched the whole thing happening with careful eyes, but it was more out of curiosity rather than watchfulness.

"Where do we go now?" Glenn asked softly as he stared into the fire.

"I think the real question is do we keep running or do we try to find somewhere permanent to settle down, like what we did in the mountains?" Andrea clarified.

"I don't think we have a choice. We can't run like this for the rest of our lives." Maggie murmured, leaning into Glenn briefly before staring up at them all. "We'll go crazy if we do."

"We might not have a choice." Rick said quietly. "Unless we can find a place that's isolated enough and large enough for the space we need. Spring will be here soon, if we found the right place, we could potentially start planting crops to sustain ourselves. So we wouldn't have to run from house to house looking for food. Just like what we were going to do in New York."

"Do we even have the manpower for something like that?" Andrea asked. She looked around at their pitifully small group and everyone shifted uneasily.

"Yes. We do." Daryl said firmly as he readjusted Judith in his arms. "It'll be hard work, but all of us are able bodied. Between me and Maggie, we can teach the rest of you. We just have to find the right place."

"Are we suggesting going back down South?" Glenn questioned. "Cause I don't know about you, but I don't fancy herd after herd blowing through and destroying everything we try to do."

"We need somewhere isolated. Somewhere that has always been separate from large populations, or any populations for that matter." Benjamin said, leaning on his crossed knees and staring into the flames. It was becoming clear that they were all exhausted and needed to sleep, but Rick seemed unwilling to let them all turn in.

"Ok, short term, let's just focus on that. Where can we go from here?" he questioned.

"Why can't we stay here? There's a generator, running water, heat if we need it. The place seems isolated, any Walkers that would come through we could pick off easily enough." Benjamin noted.

"Yeah, but there's no food." Fox said wearily. "And what we brought back today won't last for very long. Until we become self sustained, we will always need to be close enough to some kind of civilization to scavenge from. At least until spring when there's more game and Daryl can hunt."

Rick leaned back in his chair and then forward again, his forearms resting on his thighs as he stared into the fire and then looked at them all. "We're all exhausted. Running on too little food and sleep. Tomorrow if the storm lets up and the roads are passable we'll sweep the surroundings of this house more thoroughly and make sure that there's no herds coming over the hill. We're about an hour or so away from any basis of supplies we might need, but we're doing ok on gasoline. We can stay here for a little while."

"We also need to think about trying to get more bullets. We're running dangerously low on ammo." Andrea commented softly as she stared into the flames in the fireplace chewing over a log they'd recovered from a woodpile out in the back of the house.

"The only place we're going to find bullets for our guns is a military base or a police station." Rick said heavily. "Tomorrow if the area is clear maybe we'll make a run into the nearest town and see what's there." He paused and looked at the haggard group, his eyes settling on Carl last for a long while.

"Try and get some sleep. We've got a long march ahead. Benjamin you've got first watch. Glenn your on second."

The group dispersed, choosing bedrooms and moving in their stuff while Benjamin buttoned up his coat and picked up the rifle and went out onto the porch for his watch. Daryl and Fox stayed in the living room, Daryl still holding onto Judith, rocking her gently to sleep. It had become an almost nightly ritual that he would soothe her into dreams and then hand her over to Carl or Rick. Tonight it was Rick to take her and a silent understanding passed between the two men. An understanding of gratefulness, sorrow, but an unyielding determination to do right not just by Carol, but everyone they had lost since the world had gone to hell.

After he gave Judith over to Rick, Fox hauled her body off the couch and they took one of the upstairs bedrooms, collapsing onto the bed, barely taking the time to take off their weapons to avoid being poked. Normally she would have tried to seduce him and usually he would have melted straight into her hands, but they were both too tired and too grieved for it. She curled into him and enjoyed the way his skin smelled clean and fresh and loved the feel of his fingers through her hair. He soothed her towards sleep with the repeated motions of his hand and the steady thrumming of his heart against her ear.

* * *

"Well, well, well, lookie at what we have here boys."

Overhead the helicopter had signaled that they'd seen something and so the convoy of vehicles had followed their directions to a stretch of lonely, car strewn highway, but one of those cars was on fire, a huge smoldering wreck, a hunk of metal that had been all but blown to bits, burning like a meteorite on the blacktop, a clear signal from the air.

Merle and Philip piled out of the SUV and were slowly circling the charred out skeleton of the car, the acrid smell of smoke and burning metal filling the air. The winter storm was still coming down, causing the metal to cool and hiss as the flames were slowly dispersed by the weather.

"You think they did this?" Philip asked, turning to Merle as the one handed man tilted his head at the wreckage.

"Someone did. Why would someone set one random car on fire?" Merle questioned. It didn't make sense, but it was evidence that someone had been here, relatively recently, the fire was still licking what remained of the hood of the car and the rubber of the tires.

"Any sign of them?" Philip asked over the radio to the men in the helicopter.

_"Nothing on the highway sir but we're seeing smoke a few miles further down. Want to check it out?"_

"Follow the smoke, we'll keep pace on the ground." Philip answered back. The radio crackled into silence and Philip turned to Merle.

"You go with Martinez and the others at the back of the convoy. I'll call you in for backup over the radio if I need you." Philip told him as they headed back for their cars.

"Why not just let me talk to Rick? He knows me, I'm sure if I just explained the situation he'll hand it over." Merle reasoned.

Philip shook his head. "Merle. You're a good soldier, and a good soldier follows his orders, you understand that, don't you? Let me handle this." There was no room for negotiation or discussion. Merle could feel the hard edge of authority and he could see the gleam of light in Philip's eye. He wasn't playing. He'd come for blood this time.

"We had a deal. You remember that." Merle growled.

Philip's lips twitched into a smile. "Of course. I won't harm your brother. I don't want to harm any of them really, but I will do what I must to get our weapon back." He tilted his head by way of dismissal and Merle reluctantly climbed into the last SUV in the convoy as they started up on the highway again, his stomach twisting into knots. Why did Philip even bother lying? It was clear to everyone he'd come for blood. He could at least be honest about it.

* * *

"Guys! Guys wake up!"

Benjamin's frantic calls through the house started Daryl out of sleep. Almost immediately he and Fox we're rolling out of bed, staggering in their haste to get their boots on and then their weapons belt. They'd made it downstairs just as the rest of the group did, Carl holding onto Judith with a wide expression of fear in his eyes.

"What is it?" Rick demanded.

"Helicopter. Headed this way, I saw it above the trees. Don't know who they are or what they want, but they're coming."

"Daryl, Andrea, Glenn, Maggie, Fox, get the guns, Benjamin, take Judith and Carl and one of the cars, get the hell out of here." Rick ordered, already tearing through the room to the gun bag which they'd left on the kitchen table for the time being.

"Hell no, I'm staying with you!" Carl yelled as Benjamin took the baby and went to grab his medic bag.

"Carl! Go with Benjamin, I need you to take care of your sister." Rick hissed as he shoved a fresh clip into a nine millimeter pistol. Daryl loaded a bolt into his crossbow and Fox checked the clip of her hand gun with a satisfied clicking sound.

"If there's gonna be a fight, I'm staying here! I can shoot!" Carl insisted. He snatched his gun off the table before his father could take it from him but just at that moment, bullets began peppering the side of the house.

"Get down!" Daryl yelled, tackling Fox, Carl, and Rick, throwing them down as splinters of wood and glass began to fly. They were partially protected by the fact that the windows were boarded up, but the shots were powerful and must have been from close range because when Daryl looked up he saw that the bullets were taking chips of wood and splinters with them through the room.

"Benjamin! Out the back, take Maggie's car, just drive, get as far away as you can, go now!" Rick snarled as soon as he could get his head up and start moving towards the front door.

Daryl whipped around and saw the medic in the hall, one arm holding Judith who by now was beginning to cry and the other with his medic bag as well as the bag with the formula in it. The kid's face was terrified but as the bullets began to fly again, shattering through the boarded up windows and striking the edges of the walls and furniture he was started into motion. Daryl's heart twisted like a knife in his chest as he watched them go but was somewhat grateful when they heard the backdoor slam. He realized it must have been killing Rick to watch someone run off with Judith but Benjamin was useless in a fire fight and the baby was absolutely helpless. She had to be evacuated, and Benjamin was the best choice, at least in this fucked up situation.

"Out front, let's go!" Rick snarled.

They lurched up to their feet and Rick threw the front door open. They all squeezed the triggers on their guns, even Fox, peppering their enemies with gunfire.

In the dim predawn light and through the heavy snow coming down it was hard to see but when Daryl ducked down onto the porch he twisted his head on his shoulders and saw that there was a spread of three SUVs and men all in black with what looked like Kevlar vests strapped over their bodies aiming straight for them. He pulled his thirty eight out of his pants and twisted his wrist around the edge of the steps and fired. Bullets pinged wildly as they used the porch for cover but it wasn't much, and Daryl saw with horror as one SUV started moving towards the back, obviously seeing that Maggie's car was making a beeline for an escape.

"Hell no!" Carl yelled. He lunged out from his hiding place, Rick's hand missing to grab him and pull him back. He shot repeatedly from his pistol as he went running across the yard, shooting at the SUV that was pursuing Maggie's fleeing car. Daryl didn't hesitate. He swept up and gave the kid as much cover fire as he could, shooting until half the clip was empty, forcing the men firing on them to take cover behind their vehicles.

"I got him!" Andrea panted. She ducked off the porch and went running after Carl and now Fox moved forward and shot from her pistol, her finger squeezing the trigger deftly, no hesitation or fear on her face. When her bullet struck one of the men firing from behind the hood of the closest SUV she snarled her approval. Glenn and Maggie edged forward, unloading shells from their shotguns, pummeling the sides of the SUVS until everyone was thrown to the ground.

One of Carl's bullets had hit the fuel tank of the SUV pursuing Maggie's car. Everyone in the vicinity was thrown to the ground violently from the force of the blast, fire exploding around the vehicle as it went spinning through the air and crashing back into the ground the same way a comet strikes the earth. Daryl's head spun with dizziness and for a moment he was deaf to the din of the world. He felt hands on him, grabbing him and shoving him back down to get out of the way of the still flying bullets. He shook his head hard to try and clear his hearing as the world seemed to trapped in almost frozen syrup, moving so slowly things twisted and blurred into unnatural shapes.

"Carl! Andrea!" Rick yelled, the high pitch of terror in his voice shaking Daryl back to a faster tempo of reality. He whipped around and saw the man running towards his son and the blonde woman who were slowly getting to their feet. Guns we're still going off and now Maggie, Glenn, and Fox we're desperately trying to give them cover while he ran. Daryl swept up and fired again, trying his best to take out another soldier.

Andrea was on her feet faster than Carl. She'd been further from the blast and now she stood over the kid protectively, gun arm thrust out, her blonde hair a wild skewed mess as ash from the flinging debris smeared her face. She let out a scream of fury as she shot from her gun again and again, trying to force the men back while Rick ducked behind her and grabbed Carl up into his arms and beat a retreat back towards the house, still ducking and almost tripping trying to avoid the flying bullets. Daryl watched as Andrea began to run back towards the house as well but at that moment a man appeared from behind one of the SUVs, holding a revolver similar to Rick's python. He took aim at Andrea who still had her arm twisted back trying to fire even as she ran.

"Andrea!" Daryl yelled, hoping she would hear him and hit the dirt but he was far too late. The man, who wore a twisted expression of some kind of gleeful delight, cocked the hammer back and squeezed the trigger. A powerful gunshot exploded from the barrel and Andrea fell forward, blood gushing from a hole blown through the back of her skull.

They all screamed a wordless howl of rage. Rick had Carl on the porch now and as soon as his son's shaken frame was on the ground he turned and pulled out his python, firing like mad, blindly forcing the man who had killed Andrea to duck behind the SUV again. Glenn and Maggie unloaded their shotguns, tears of rage and pain streaming down their faces.

"Daryl! Daryl, take this!" Fox's voice was a panting, twisted sound of battle crazed adrenaline and urgency as they crouched down behind the porch. She was digging at her neck, pulling on something there. She pulled off a necklace on a long silver chain, at the end of which hung a metal pendant about the size of a dog tag which she ripped through her hair and shoved into his hand which she had grabbed in his own. "Take it, keep it warm." She forced his fist to close over it and then her hand grabbed the back of his hair. "I love you." The words were tense with the din of battle, but all of the emotion was in her eyes. She kissed him hard on the mouth, a sharp clutch of teeth and tongue, edged by bloodlust and reckless determination. She jerked away before he could grab her or call her back and went running off the porch.

"Die you son of a bitch!" she snarled, shooting the last of her bullets at the man who had killed Andrea. He was forced to duck behind the SUV but she just kept coming and the other men who had been shooting at them now swarmed her.

"Fox!" Daryl screamed, getting up from his crouched position and firing madly, but his gun was empty. He swung his crossbow forward and hit one of the men in the top of the shoulders forcing him to drop but by the time he had another arrow loaded into the crossbow Fox had gone down in a pile of black clothes and red hair, screaming and kicking violently. They shoved her into one of the SUVS and immediately the car took off, tires slinging mud and snow as they went.

"NO!" Daryl roared. He ran off the porch straight for Andrea's body and snatched up her fallen gun, shooting wildly, trying to take the tires out on the car but failed and all too soon the gun clicked empty. The men he'd been firing at had piled back into the cars and even under a hail of remaining gunfire they streaked away into the night, moving at well over safe speeds as they tore back into the road and disappeared into the darkness, veiled by the falling snow.


	39. Chapter 39

_**Ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, there's an announcement to be made. As of today, I have FINISHED writing Wildflower. There are several more chapters for you all to sink your teeth into, but my work is all but done except for a few last edit rounds. It has been an incredible ride, and even though this particular chapter is not yet the end, I do still want to thank each and every single one of you who has ever clicked on, read through, favorited, followed, recommended, and of course reviewed my story. It has been an honor to have all of you as readers. You are all wonderful and I couldn't have done this without you. You have my love. And now, let's get this party going, shall we? **_

**Icec**: _You have to post the next chapter now! I cannot wait! Your killing me, ha ha. Ps is it Jenner who's the big boss?_

Is it Jenner? Mmmm, you'll just have to wait and find out! ;)

**oXxgeorgiaxXo**: _Andrea died. Not to bad. But Daryl lost fox. Noooooooo. Xxxxxxx._

Aye, Andrea's dead as a doornail, which makes me a little sad cause I actually like her character. Or I sympathize with her at any rate. She's made some stupid choices, and sometimes I'd like to shake her and go 'WTF ARE YOU DOING!?' but I still like her for some reason. Anyway. And yes, poor Daryl. He's not doing so hot right now. But he ain't gonna take it lying down, that is for /damn/ sure.

**chef-carlitos**: _Wow! Things are really getting exciting :). What I love about this story most is Fox's character with Daryl. No offense to Caryl shippers, but I just can't see it. Fox, however, is absolutely perfect for Daryl. She's strong, tough, and a fighter. Carol is mostly just there. I do like when she gets Daryl to open up though, because who doesn't love a vulnerable badass? Anyway, I love this st_

Mmm, honestly, who /doesn't/ love a vulnerable badass? I completely agree. And I'm still so amazed and flattered by how many people think that Fox is a perfect match for Daryl, it just warms my writer's heart like you wouldn't believe. =D Things are definitely getting exciting, and are only building from here.

**sage62442**: _I can't... Omg... i... I just... The feels... Oh. My. Jesus. Oh my god_

I know the feels! So many feels! Even as I was writing it I'm going OH THE FREAKING FEELS. My muse can really be quite cruel at times…

**Emberka-2012**: _This fire drew attention to them. Fox should have been more careful. Now Daryl will not rest until he finds her._

They all should have been more careful, but none of them expected that they had been pursued. And they also didn't expect their enemy to have a freaking helicopter either. If they had known, they'd of never risked any kind of fire. And you're right, Daryl is never going to stop, not until he finds her.

**arrowsandkittens**: _Arghh, I hate you and your cliffhangers. This is just getting better and better. I swear everytime I watch the show I can only think about Fox suddenly showing up. I think she would really fit in! We should spam them on twitter facebook ... anywhere to get Fox on the damn show!_

Awww, that's just awesome! I can't believe so many people want to see Fox on the show, that just blows my mind each and every time. Each. And. Every. Time. And I'm so grateful and so amazed at all the love and support from you guys. You guys are freaking awesome!

**FanFicGirl10**: _Am i the only one that was happy and giddy that Daryl called Fox, Dahlia? I must admit if Andrea did not get on my nerve in the show i would be crying right now but i'm not. Oh no, Daryl needs to get Dahlia back! Damn Merle better protect his brothers women is she gets raped i will never like Merle, Ever! Damn another cliffhanger, you are killing me! Great Chapter, Update Soon!_

Lol, I was a little giddy myself when I wrote that. He only uses her name when it's really important in those quiet moments. Ya know Andrea seems to be getting a lot of hate just like Carol, although for different reasons, and sometimes I do feel like reaching through the TV and smacking her hard, but I still like her for some reason xD. I wouldn't be counting on Merle to be doing much protecting, even though he knows who Fox is to Daryl. Right now he's with Philip and he has to play by Philip's rules or risk getting thrown out or even killed and he knows this. But everything could all go to hell in that inevitable face to face meeting that is coming up on us /very/ soon…

**Kaleiburzz**: _God damn. Fox is one perceptive little sonofabitch isn't, she? She probably realized that they were after her, huh? Wow! I quite literally thrust my fist into the air at Andrea's death. Well, tried to. In my haste I clipped the side of my desk, and I am currently nursing my bleeding knuckle. Oh well. It was totally worth it! Thank you! I'm currently recalling Daryl's conversation with Rick, where he was telling him that he didn't know what he'd do if something happened to Fox. I guess we're about to find out, huh? He's gonna reek bloody vengeance, isn't he? Ohhh, I'm so excited! Lol, I knew something bad was going to happen! That whole working generater, bubble baths, and cuddling in a real bed was just too good to be true! As soon as Glenn turned on the tap I was like, "Ohh, hot water. This can't be good." LOL! Oh, I really hope Benji doesn't get lost with Judith! He's probably going to finally harden up now that he's the protector. Thank goodness! Lol. City slicking doctor and a newborn versus the world. The Governor is a fucking bastard. I hope he dies bloody. Maybe something savage, like Fox biting his throat out. That would be sick! Update!_

Fox certainly is perceptive. In situations like this she throws her head several gears into the future and tries to understand why this is happening, and in this case, the only thing an outside group could want is what Rick took, and the only one who's had any outside contact had to have been Shane, and Shane saw Rick give Fox the necklace, so he'd of been able to tell them who to target. For her its all circumstantial, but enough to spurn her into action. Awwww, fist bumping for Andrea's death? XD. I know she gets a lot of hate, and sometimes I can understand, but I do still like her character anyway. Aye, how ironic fate can be. Daryl confesses he doesn't know what he'd do without her, and now here he stands without her at his side. And I think it is such a shock to his system that he really wouldn't know what to do. It's like a car going sixty on the interstate and smashing into a concrete wall. Everything just kind of stops, and he'll have to put the pieces together again if he wants to get her back. And when he does confront the ones who took her, he is definitely bringing hell with him, and it goes beyond simply killing them. He'll have them hurt as much as he does, which is intense. I know, right when things go good for them, everything always comes crashing down. But they have to pull together right now, or they'll lose everything. And little Benjy, he definitely got thrust into a difficult position, but he won't be gone long, just long enough to get out of dodge with the baby. As soon as he sees the enemy's gone he'll come back. Philip certainly is a fucking asshole, and it shall remain to be seen what happens to him ;)

**Emerald Gaze**: _Ok so i'm pretty sure u just had philip kill andrea which is a really interesting twist considering the last episode. Also poor fox is in for some govner and merle style interrogation before rick and daryl find them and get her back. Either that or your planning to kill her and end the story... which would make u unbelivably evil. And lets not forget and ben and the baby they have to meet back up with the team too or find another group to join for a bit. Oh the many possibilities but at least we'll be finding out who the doctor is soon. Hopefully fox'll remind him of his wife or something or else shes pretty much dead. Oh and i forgot to mention it for the last chap but i just knew that flaming car would have been a dead giva away, exceuse the pun_

Aye, Philip was the trigger man, and it is ironic, giving everything that's happened in the show. Things are definitely not looking good for Fox…Philip and Merle definitely aren't going to make it easy on her, but then again she won't make it easy on herself either. Mmm, the story is ending soon, but you'll just have to wait and see how and in what way ;) As far as Benjy is concerned, he'll be back very shortly, he just needed to get out of cover fire with little ass kicker. As far as Fox and the doctor's dynamic, the doctor is more or less insane at this point, and she'd do well to realize this and not push him the way she pushes everyone else that pisses her off. If he is anything, it's a loose cannon, and it won't go well for her if she doesn't realize this. If only they'd known they were still being pursued, they'd of kept their heads down and none of this would have happened, but they didn't, and now their paying for it…

**Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End**: _I can't get enough of this story! It's amazing and I love it so much! You are such a talented writing!_

Well hi there new reviewer! Thanks for dropping in to say hello! I hope you continue to love the story as we barrel down the road towards its conclusion. Thanks for joining in!

* * *

"What the fuck was that!" Glenn raged as Daryl was going to pieces in the snow, kicking and screaming as loud as he possibly could. Maggie had collapsed against the wall, her body shaking violently with terror and grief. Carl was slowly coming to on the porch as Rick carefully scooped him up and carried him back inside.

"Dad…?" the boy coughed as his eyes began to open.  
"I'm here," Rick murmured softly as he laid him on the couch.

"Where…what happened?" he questioned, clearly still dazed.

"I'll be right back." Rick said, urgency coloring his tone. He moved quickly back to the porch and turned to Maggie and Glenn. "Glenn, grab the Jeep and follow the tracks after Maggie's car. I don't want Benjy running off into a blizzard, those guys aren't coming back. They got who they were after."

Glenn looked at Rick with hard, glass like eyes. "They targeted her? Why? Who the hell is she, Rick?" he demanded.

"It's not her fault. It's mine. I'll explain everything, just go for Benjamin." He fished the keys to the Jeep and pressed them into his hand. Glenn spun and jogged towards the Jeep and Rick turned to Maggie.

"Go sit with Carl please, I'll be right back, I have to get Daryl." Rick said as he saw the hunter already stalking off towards the road, crossbow in hand. Maggie nodded but as Rick went to step off the porch she touched him on the arm.

"Be careful." She urged with a tight squeeze before pulling away and going inside to check on Carl. Rick nodded and then went running off the porch towards Daryl. His long legs ate away the ground and soon he was at the man's side where he was determinedly storming towards the highway in the distance.

"Daryl you have to come back inside, you're not going to catch them like this. We'll get her back, we will, but not like this!" Rick pleaded urgently. He cut the man off and put his hand on his chest to stop him.

Daryl snarled and curled his fingers around Rick's wrist. He squeezed and bent the man's arm at a twisted angle, shoving it up his back so hard that it almost broke, taking him to the ground before Rick could recover.

"WHY! Why did they take her!" he yelled, his voice raked with vicious claws.

"I can explain!" Rick choked, hardly able to breathe because of the pressure Daryl was exerting on his throat and chest.

"You know!" Daryl accused, getting off of the man and slinging him away. Rick staggered but got back up to his feet, holding his arms out when Daryl whipped his crossbow forward and aimed it straight at him, a single arrow notched inside.

"I know." Rick panted, still holding his hands out in a surrender position. "I know, and I know where they'll take her. They won't kill her, they want something she has."

Daryl's eyes narrowed and his chest heaved for air as his entire body trembled. He still felt the bruising echo of Fox's lips on his before she'd torn free of him, and he realized that he still had the necklace in his hand. He lowered the crossbow and threw the chain and pendant at Rick, who snagged it from midair, the metal capsule swinging as it dangled from his hand.

"What the fuck is that?" Daryl demanded. "She gave that to me just before she ran out there."

Rick's eyes stared at the necklace, confused, but for only a moment. "We will talk about this. I'll explain everything. But first…first we need to bury Andrea."

Daryl's body shook but not from cold. "You know why she was taken?"

"Yes." Rick answered, slowly coming closer. "I'll tell you and the group everything I know. And when the storm quits we'll get in the cars and we'll go get her back. I swear on my life, Daryl."

Daryl stared hard at him, somewhere between rage and desperation coursing through his veins like a bolt of lightening. He could hardly contain it, but the small part of his rational brain that was still there told him that he had to keep it together, that Fox was counting on him, and that Rick would give him answers. He jerked his head in an affirmative motion and they jogged back towards the house. They had almost reached it when Maggie's car and the Jeep came from around the back of the house and into the front yard. Benjamin piled out holding Judith in his arms but then he saw the blood stained snow and Andrea's crumpled body and he almost hit his knees. Glenn hurried to him in case he fell but both men stayed on their feet although they both looked incredibly shaken, as if they were running through a dream world. Daryl went running towards Benjamin, adjusting his crossbow on his back as Benjy straightened his knees again.

"She ok?" Daryl demanded, looking at the medic with hard eyes. The blonde kid nodded and passed him the baby who was crying and struggling in her blankets. Daryl took her from him and while Rick's eyes narrowed he trusted Daryl not to hurt her. The hunter walked back inside, Rick, Benjamin, and Glenn in tow.

"What the hell happened!" Benjamin demanded once the door was shut. Daryl attempted to soothe Judith's cries but he was still shaking too badly and so he passed her to Maggie before beginning to pace violently around the room.

"Everybody calm down! Everybody just calm down and we'll get through this, ok!" Rick huffed as he paced around the room as well, trying to sort through the battle stress and shaking like his skull was being rattled around the same way a bartender mixes a shaker full of ice and alcohol.

"Rick, sit down." Benjamin urged, taking the man by the shoulders. "Is anybody hurt?"

"Andrea's dead! And Fox was taken!" Daryl snarled. "They killed her! Point blank range, Rick, they shot her down and took Fox hostage! What the fuck do they want from us!"

"This!" Rick yelled back, throwing the necklace back at Daryl who caught it out of the air and squeezed it tightly in his fist. "They want that! That's what they were after! They must have known she had it…"

"How? What is it? How the hell could they have known where we were…" Maggie panted. Her eyes were still wide with fear but Glenn leaned into her to support her shaky frame.

"They had a helicopter." Benjamin said softly, trying to lower the tone of the room. "I heard it just before the SUVs showed up. Who knows how long they might have been following us."

"They would have been able to see the smoke from the chimney." Rick reasoned. He turned back to Carl who was starting to sit up on the couch.

"Andrea's dead?" the boy murmured, his voice soft and questioning. When Rick nodded Carl's fists clenched tight, sucking a breath through a tightened jaw.

"And they took Fox?"

"They took her and drove off." Rick said heavily.

"Then what are we waiting for! We have to go and get her back!" Carl insisted.

"Carl, we can't. The storm is so bad our cars wouldn't get ten miles. We don't have snow tires or chains for grip, we have to wait until the weather calms."

"What about Andrea's body? We can't just leave her there." He cried, a few pained tears beginning to streak down his cheeks.

"We'll take care of her." Glenn said, getting up to his feet. His body was shaking but Maggie joined him. The brunette tried to pass Judith to Rick but Benjamin swooped in and took her from them.

"The more of you work, the faster you'll get her grave dug. As soon as she's buried, come back inside and Rick will explain what's going on. Won't you?" Benjamin growled, the most assertiveness in his voice anyone had ever heard from him before. The former sheriff nodded and Daryl jerked up to his feet. They all plunged outside into the snowstorm and went to the car and grabbed any tools that they could, shovels, axes, anything. They set to work on a grave under the one lonely tree out in the back yard of the house, hacking at the frozen ground, Daryl throwing himself into it so hard that he could feel his muscles wrenching and his hands beginning to blister and bleed but he didn't care. Even when blood began to run down the shovel and stain the wood and snow, he couldn't be bothered to stop. White hot rage blocked out the pain as he dug and dug and dug. Rage at his helplessness, rage at the men who taken Andrea's life, and rage at the ones who had snatched Fox away. The dark, instinctual animal in him roared with injustice and vengeance. Fox was his. She could not be taken away from him, and even if they didn't hurt her, they would pay with their lives for that offense alone. The more human side of him cried out in fear for her, in pain for her. The person that had a hold of his soul and been ripped free and now he was left gaping and bleeding in all manner of speaking, including physical. The brutally cold wind and snow was peeling away the feeling of her body heat against him and the memory of her lips on his in that last second, but he still had the echoes, the faint traces. She had tasted like the lust of battle and snowy wind deep in the night when the air was otherwise frozen and still and all was silent around them except for the howl of a lonely wolf over the mountains. She had not been afraid, but he was. Oh he was. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what he would do without her. The very idea that she was no longer at his side was almost enough to break him right then.

"Daryl."

It was Glenn who spoke to him now. He looked up and saw the kid watching him, dark eyes full of concern and a certain measure of understanding. In less time than he had realized they'd been outside working the grave was dug and now Glenn was asking him to back up.

"We'll get her back." Glenn said as he very carefully took the shovel away from Daryl who let it go and only after realized his hands were torn open and bleeding.

"Yeah. Yeah we will." He agreed, his voice sounding nothing like his own, but when Daryl looked up and stared at the kid he saw flashes of that awful day in Atlanta when they had run for their lives and Fox had run circles around a city full of Walkers and still come back to them. They had come a long way since then, but it was an unspoken reminder of how much they could take. How much she could take.

They all went and crowded around Andrea's body. When they rolled her gently to her back it looked as though she were sleeping, not unlike how Carol had been at their feet not so long ago, all except for the gush of blood from the wound in the back of her head that stained the snow scarlet. Rick ran his fingers through her tussled blonde hair gently, his face twisting into a semblance of grief and deep shock. Like he couldn't quite believe that this was real. That he was burying yet another member of their group.

The cold forced them to move. Daryl helped to pick her body up, along with Rick and Glenn and they carried her to her grave. When they lowered her inside, Daryl stayed down in the earth for a moment longer with her. He and Andrea hadn't seen eye to eye on very much; he didn't agree with many of her choices, but there had been something kindred in her when it came to how they loved their siblings, and the will they both had to do something about the problems they faced, even if it was the wrong thing. Fox was like that, and it struck a torn chord inside him.

"Here." Carl whispered, holding out Andrea's empty gun to Daryl to bury it with her. The kid was no longer crying but he was clearly still incredibly shaken.

Daryl shook his head. "We need it. She'd want us to use it."

Daryl climbed out of the grave and Rick looked at them all as they shivered in the freezing air, gazing down at Andrea's body which was slowly starting to become covered with the falling snow.

"Andrea was one of the original ones to survive Atlanta. When we first met she shoved that gun in my face, ready to kill me because I'd put her people in danger. She was ready to take any risk she had to in order to keep us safe. Andrea was many things, some of those things we didn't always agree with, but she still held her head high and stood by us until the very end. In some ways she was the most human of us all, walking that thin, thin line between the weakness from what the world has done to us, and fighting for what she believed was right. And in the end, she sacrificed herself for us, and we will never ever forget."

Most of the group was in tears when they reached down and began to pack the snow and earth over Andrea. Daryl's hands were still bleeding and shaking but he didn't stop. Fox would want him here. She'd want to be there herself. She and Andrea had started to become friends in the end, and it hurt to know that all of that potential had been shattered and destroyed.

They lingered by the grave for only a moment longer, the cold eventually driving them back inside, along with the viciously howling wind. Judith was still crying when they came inside and though Daryl was tempted to hold her, his hands were bloody still. Benjamin passed the baby to Maggie again who fixed her a bottle and then approached Daryl.

"Come on. I need to bandage these." The medic urged. Daryl nodded wordlessly and Benjy set to work on disinfecting the cuts caused by the rough wooden shovel and then wrapping them in gauze which began to become stained with red.

"Now. Talk." Daryl growled as soon as Benjamin let him go. He could feel the metal of the pendant against his chest and he remembered Fox's hissed words to keep it warm.

Rick sighed and sank down onto the sofa next to Carl, his head dropping into his hands for a moment before he picked himself back up and looked at them all, his gaze lingering on Daryl's for the longest.

"What I told you about the CDC was a half truth. There was a hand written report taped to a glass case down in the basement. Inside the glass case was that." He nodded towards Daryl who lifted the chain off his neck and dangled the pendant for them all to see. A little rounded object, almost like a bullet without a pointed end, roughly the same size as a dog tag. He let it fall down to his chest again outside his shirt and stared Rick down, waiting for him to continue.

"The disease that started all this…it wasn't a bacteria or virus. It was a parasite. A parasite that goes through three different stages, metamorphoses, like caterpillars except with a third step. These parasites are small enough that they invade not just our bodies, but our DNA. At least that's what the doctors at the CDC suspected from the chance they'd been given to study it. The report said that the infantile stage is dangerous but the parasite is at its weakest at that point. It's the stage that we all carry. When we die, the parasite is able to take us over and revive us, mutating into its final stage now that it doesn't have to fight off our body's defenses, thus, we come back no matter what. If someone's bitten or scratched by a Walker, the stage three parasite infects us and is strong enough to kill us. The wound from the Walker triggers the mutation of the infantile parasite into stage two, where it becomes strong enough to make us ill and kill us eventually. And then once we're dead, the parasite mutates again into its final stage, taking us over and bringing us back. The doctors think this happens so the host can continue to take in protein to keep the parasite alive. Something about the in take of meat keeps it going. They didn't know what it is about the meat that fuels the parasite, it just does."

"So why does it have to be the brain to kill them?" Glenn asked.

Rick shook his head heavily. "They didn't have an answer for that. Their best guess was that the parasite concentrates most strongly in the brain, and by destroying it, it takes out enough of the parasites so they no longer have the strength or numbers to reanimate the corpse."

"And so what the hell is this?" Daryl demanded, indicating to the necklace again.

Rick shifted uncomfortably in his seat but he locked eyes with Daryl steadily. "That is possibly the only sample of the infantile parasite left. And the only sample that could be used to derive a cure for the disease from."

Benjamin whistled. "Holy shit." He whispered, staring now at the necklace on Daryl's chest and then back to Rick. "That's why it has to be kept warm. The parasites will die otherwise, right?"

Rick nodded. "Yes. And if they die, that's it. They'll be no chance, nothing. They couldn't find anything strong enough to kill off the stage two or three parasites without killing the living host. And they can't extract the infantile parasites from our blood, they have some kind of protection that stops them from being able to isolate them from our DNA, and unless they can isolate them, they can't synthesize a cure."

"They, who the fuck is they?" Daryl demanded coldly.

"The CDC." Rick answered. "What's left of it anyway. They'd pulled out in a helluva hurry when shit hit the fan. They knew Atlanta was done for. They think it might have been ground zero for where the outbreak started. Someone got careless in a lab or was infected by accident, died, and bit someone, and it just spiraled from there. Nobody knew who patient zero was."

"And so those men…the ones in New York and the ones just outside, their from the government or something?" Maggie questioned.

"Either the government, what's left of the CDC, or a martialed force of some kind from someone taking advantage of the situation. Judging by their gear, I'm thinking government. They must have come to the CDC looking for it." Rick said heavily.

"How the hell would they know we had it? How could they have possibly known? We're just one group amongst maybe hundreds of others surviving out there. How the fuck would they know we had it?" Glenn questioned, staring at Rick with unyielding eyes.

"Shane." Rick answered very softly. "It had to be him. He was the only one who could have known and told them we'd been at the CDC." He turned and looked at Daryl. "Remember when we first came to Maggie's plantation? You and T-dog went on a patrol and thought you saw an SUV driving along the road?"

Daryl raked back through his memories, back to when it had been summer and the days were sweltering hot and he and Fox were still weaving an entangled dance of power and resistance. He tried to pin point that one day on patrol with T-dog, and as he brought back all the other details, he did remember seeing a flash of something black swerving around a bend of trees, disappearing into a shimmer of heat waves.

"Yeah, I remember." He answered.

"Shane must have found them. He kept going off on those walks by himself. Fox said that she saw Merle with the group that attacked us in New York, Merle must have been his contact with the group. They must have worked out some kind of deal."

"But if that was the case, why didn't anything happen before now? If Shane had known what you'd taken, why wouldn't he tell these men then?" Benjamin questioned.

"Maybe he did but maybe they had something else to worry about. Maybe they hadn't been to the CDC yet and they didn't know that the sample was missing. That part I don't know. The only thing I do know is that he must have known Fox had it. She wouldn't have been targeted otherwise. They could have just killed her, but they chose to take her with them."

Daryl's eyes hardened and his fists clenched, one hand curled around the handle of his buck knife despite the pain in his hands. "How could Shane have known she had it? If you were keeping it a secret, how the hell could he have known?"

Rick held his gaze steadily, taking the accusations and stabbing blue eyes with a willingness born only of guilt. "That first night on the plantation. We'd all been drinking and I was going to bed, but I was worried about what I'd found. I didn't want it falling in the wrong hands, or being destroyed, and that's why I took it from the CDC in the first place. I asked Fox to keep it safe. Remember at the time she'd been with us for barely a week, and hardly anybody would look at her without wanting to have a gun on hand. I believed that if we were ever attacked, by the living, or the dead, she'd have the strength to do what was necessary. To leave us behind and escape and keep the sample safe until it could be given to the right people. Do you know what kind of leverage that could be used for? What the wrong person could do with that?" he nodded towards Daryl's chest.

"And you thought because she had no ties to us that made it ok for you to pass off your burden onto her?" Daryl snarled, his hand tightening on his knife even harder. "You put her in danger!"

"I did what I believed I had to do!" Rick spat back. "I had Lori and Carl and the entire group counting on me, I knew that I couldn't leave them! If it came to a fire fight, I already knew that I'd die to defend my family! But Fox had nobody! Fox was alone, the only odd man out in our group at the time. And don't you tell me that she couldn't survive out there on her own. She could and you know it. She could do what was needed. I couldn't. I based my decision off reality as I saw it."

"She had me!" Daryl growled, his voice rasping in his throat as the words grated like broken glass between his teeth. "She had me!"

"Not then." Rick said, lowering his voice, becoming softer in his tone. "Daryl she could have turned and walked away from you in the space of about a heartbeat if she thought she had to save herself. It wasn't until later that you two really became close. You may have cared for her then, but she was still making up her mind."

"And after?" Daryl growled. "After you knew she was with me, that we…" he shook himself, the words he'd been trying to say dying in his throat. "Why didn't you take it back from her? You knew she was never going to leave us. By the time we got to New York, you had to know she was never going to walk away."

Rick sighed and his neck bent under the pressure. "No, Daryl, I didn't know. I didn't know what she might have done if we came under fire. Cause you see, all those little spats with Shane that you think I didn't know about, I did. I knew, and I thought that she might decide to turn and go. That first night on the plantation when Shane tried to force himself on her, I knew about that. She told me in not so many words. That was the same time he must have seen me give her the sample in the hallway. He must have followed her out after I went upstairs. It was the only time he could have seen it."

"If you knew…if you knew why didn't you do something about him before!" Daryl snarled.

"That first time Shane was drunk. I blamed it on the whiskey and his frustration over Lori. It didn't make it right, but I think you two handed his ass to him, he'd gotten what was coming to him, I didn't see the need to intervene any further. In Virginia when they were alone together on the porch, she could have killed him and chose not to then. But she made it clear to me that she wouldn't take it much more, and that if she had to, she would run. And take the sample with her."

"Then why in New York?" Glenn asked softly. "Why did you decide to kill him in New York?"

Rick sighed very heavily, his shoulders almost shaking with the stress. He took a long time before he answered, the tension in the room mounting by the second. "He tried to kill me. We were on the hunt for Sophia and we got in an argument and he tried to kill me. I talked him down, I wanted it to have been put behind us, but then when Fox dragged Daryl back to camp mangled and bloodied…I knew I had to do something. Fox wanted revenge on Shane for everything he had done, to her, to Daryl, to the rest of us. I chose to let her have it. Shane would have killed one of us eventually, and I wasn't going to let that happen."

"And what about Sophia?" Maggie asked. "Did Shane have something to do with that?"

Rick ran his fingers through his tangled hair, staring down at the floor for a long minute. "Daryl said that Sophia had been taken hostage. Shane was the only one who could have told the group that attacked us where we were, and there was nobody else in the valley that we knew of. I don't know how they were communicating, but he was the only one who had contact with the outside world. Maybe they found her and took her hostage as leverage to use against him. Maybe they told him to get the sample back, or kill me, and they'd let Sophia go. He obviously failed, and maybe they killed Sophia in retaliation. If Shane had something to do with it, or if those men who took Fox are responsible, they're the only ones who know for certain."

"Andrea told me that Shane had asked her to leave with him." Daryl said quietly, his eyes fixed firmly on Rick. "That he had somewhere they could go, but he wouldn't say where. Maybe with the men who attacked us."

"What about Merle? Where does he fit into all of this?" Glenn pressed, shooting nervous eyes from Daryl back to Rick.

"I don't know. Fox said Merle attacked her on the raid in New York. He must be working for those men, maybe they were the ones who found him after he got off the rooftop. What we do know is that Merle isn't the one in charge. If he was, he wouldn't have put Daryl's life at risk like that, and correct me if I'm wrong, but he wouldn't have killed Sophia either." Rick answered, looking back at Daryl.

Daryl shook his head. "Merle's got some screws loose, but he'd never order a kid to get killed. Or do it himself."

"You think Merle's boss told Shane to kill Daryl?" Benjamin questioned. "I mean why else would he attack him the way he did? Maybe to remove complications between Merle and Daryl in the future."

Rick shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. I don't know. I suppose we'll find out though. Because once the snow stops, we're gonna bring the fight to them. Benjamin, Daryl, come with me."

He got up to his feet and walked towards the door and while Daryl followed closely Benjamin was more wary.

"What are we going out there for?" the medic asked.

Rick turned to him, his eyes hard as slate. "We're gonna go see if any of the bodies out there are still alive. I know the general location for the remaining base of operations for the CDC, but its vague. If one of the ones out there are alive, they'll know where it is."

Benjamin nodded and while he was shrugging into his coat Daryl turned to Rick. "Where is it?" he asked.

"Colorado. The Rocky Mountains. The note in the CDC said that everything was being transferred there, that the isolation would keep the Walkers at bay and they could work on a cure."

"So why didn't they take this?" he demanded, twisting his fingers into the chain.

Rick looked down at his hands and then back up to his face. Two sets of blue eyes met and neither yielded. "I don't know." Rick answered before prying open the door.

They went through the ever-increasing piles of snow to the sprawled remains of the shootout, pointedly ignoring the bloody mess where Andrea had fallen. Daryl went towards the man that he'd shot with his bow and turned him over roughly from where he was laying face down. He thought he heard a groan over the howling wind and leaned down for a better listen. When he still couldn't tell, he jerked his arrow out and the man heaved and twitched, his fingers beginning to scrabble in the snow.

"Got a live one!" Daryl snarled.

Rick and Benjamin hurried over and together they shouldered the man inside and laid him out on the floor in front of the fire which Glenn and Maggie had stoked again to get some heat going through the house. Benjamin worked the fallen soldier out of his Kevlar vest and turned him over to get a better look at the wound. The arrow had slid in through his shoulder and back but it was a relatively clean cut entry.

"You're lucky kid. Just a flesh wound." Benjamin muttered. He tapped the young man's face, not very much older than his own. "Hey, you with us?"

The kid groaned and tried to roll over to get closer to the fire but Rick's foot blocked him. He crouched down and stared the kid down as his brown eyes opened worriedly.

"Where the hell am I?" he whined as he tried to squirm away from the men surrounding him.

"You're in our house now, kid. Now, you play by the rules and tell us what we want to know, you don't have to get hurt again. Understand?" Rick's tone was grating and he flashed a look to Daryl who pulled his buck knife out and hauled the kid into a sitting position by the hair.

"You tell us what we wanna know, or I'll make that wound in your back a lot larger." He threatened.

The kid yelped with surprise and fear and squirmed again but Rick restrained his hands. Glenn jumped up from the couch and rifled through the gun bag before tossing a pair of handcuffs to Rick who quickly cuffed the kid behind his back, putting stress and strain on his already injured back.

"What, what do you want?" he whined.

"Your base. Where is it?" Rick demanded.

"What the hell are you talking about?" the kid yelped.

Daryl smacked him in the back of the head with the heel of his hand and then pulled roughly on his hair. "Don't play stupid with us boy." He snarled, digging the tip of his knife into the kid's shoulder blade, right at the entry wound from his arrow. "Where is it?"

"It's in the Rockies! I can't really tell you where, it's just a random valley carved out by a glacier!" he panted, struggling with fear.

"Can you take us there?" Rick asked, his voice grating down in his throat.

"No, I…Ahhhhh!" he began to scream as Daryl drove the first few inches of his knife into the kid's back, digging in and twisting around in the wound, hollowing it out further.

"How about now?" Daryl snarled. "Can you take us there or not? You better say yes or we'll kill you right now for not being any use."

"Yes!" the kid gasped, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. "Yes, yes, I can take you there! Please, please don't kill me, I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"You shot at us! Your boss killed one of our group and took another hostage! Bullshit you didn't do anything!" Daryl snarled. He backhanded the kid as hard as he could, sending him flying to the floor, completely unconscious.

The group stared at him as he stood there over the kid's unconscious body, a mixture of fear and concern in their eyes. He sheathed his buck knife and stormed down the hall onto the back porch but just as he predicted, he wasn't left alone for long.

"Daryl. We'll get her back, I promise." Rick whispered as he pulled his coat tight around him in the face of the blizzard like wind.

The hunter rounded on him. "And if we don't? If she dies before we get there?"

"They won't kill her. They think she has the sample. And even once they realize that she doesn't, she knows who does. They'll want to know that. She's strong and she's smart, and she knows how to handle herself. She'll be ok. Once we get there we'll spring her loose and we'll disappear."

"Rick. If she dies…if she dies I'm not staying here with you." Daryl growled, staring at the man with hard as slate eyes. "I won't come for you. I won't hold you responsible. But I won't stay."

Rick slowly nodded. It hurt to make that acknowledgement, but he accepted it, because had it not been for him, none of this would have happened. "I understand."

Daryl made to take the necklace off and hand it back to him but Rick shook his head. "Hold it. When we go to get her out, you may need that to bargain for her freedom. I leave it up to you to decide what to do with it when the time comes."

Daryl nodded and tucked it beneath his shirt and coat, moving past Rick and into the house to escape the wind. He set about the methodical task of taking care of his crossbow and every single gun, not just his own. Because when the time came, they were going to bring unholy hell down on the ones who had stolen so much from them already, and absolutely nothing was going to stop him.

* * *

"Let me go!" Fox screamed, thrashing in the back seat of the SUV even as the car spun and fishtailed wildly as it struggled to get a grip. "Let go of me you fucking bastards, let go!"

She kicked and struggled, her limbs flying everywhere as three men tried to restrain her in the back seat. She struggled for her knives but in the end with so many able bodied men holding her down she was forced to stop. They hauled her upright in the seat and kicked her forward, forcing her head down before handcuffing her hands behind her back and thrusting a thick black bag over her head, blocking out her vision. She knocked her head back, trying to hit someone and she think she collided because she heard a man groan, but all too soon she was shoved back against the seat even as the car rolled up onto the blacktop and picked up speed. There was an arm over her throat and she heard the clicking sound of a bullet being loaded into the chamber of a gun and the cold muzzle of said gun pressed against her temple.

"Stop struggling or you die right now!" a man hissed.

She sucked down a deep, shaking breath and deciding that because she couldn't see and she couldn't access her weapons, it was time to stop before they really did kill her. They had killed Sophia, they had killed Andrea, and she wasn't going to make bets that they wouldn't kill her.

They didn't drive for very long, maybe ten or fifteen minutes. She was hauled unceremoniously out of the car, a gun in her back, forcing her to slip and slide on the slick, frozen surface of the highway. She heard the sharp chopping of air and realized that wherever they were, the helicopter Benjamin had spoke about was very close.

"Bring her here." A man called.

She was marched forward and suddenly the bag over her head was gone. She was faced with the man she had tried to kill just moments before. He was an average looking man, tall, broad in the shoulders, a thatch of neatly combed brown and blue green eyes that were disturbingly similar to Rick's. He might have been average looking at first glance, but Fox understood instinctively that whoever this man was, whatever he was after, he was infinitely more ruthless than anything else they had come across. She'd watched him gun down Andrea for no reason and he might have very well been the one to kill Sophia. She had to be careful.

"Well, well, well, after all of Shane's talk you certainly do live up to your reputation, Fox." The man chuckled softly. He reached forward and took a lock of her two toned hair, rubbing the pinkish red strands between his fingers even as she struggled against the bonds on her arms.

"Then you should know that I'm gonna bleed you dry the second you fuck up, and you already did by taking me hostage!" she snarled.

"Ooh, feisty are we? Well good, prisoners are no fun otherwise." He said, dropping her lock of hair.

"You have no idea what you're doing." Fox warned as they began to drag her towards the chopper. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

The man paused for a moment on their way to the chopper. "Sweetheart, you're the one that has no idea what you're getting yourself into. You might want to stop talking now."

"Fuck you!" she snarled. She tore free of the grip that the man behind her had on her shoulders and she kicked her legs into overdrive. She flung herself into the man's chest and knocked him to the ground, doing her best to crack his skull with her own. They went straight to the ground and she bashed her head against his own, giving herself a helluva headache but she didn't care. She fought through the wooziness and lunged her head back down, sinking her teeth into the man's neck. She tried to rip his throat out and thus kill him but she missed her mark by a few inches and instead when she was ripped free, she had a chunk of his shoulder and neck flesh between her teeth, which she promptly spat out at their feet.

"You bitch!" he snarled, clapping his hand up to the wound. He stormed up to her and now that she was held down, he backhanded her so hard that her head twisted back, her hair flying every which way. Pain rocketed up through her face and neck but she still tried to head-butt him on the rebound. When that failed, he glared at her again, grabbed her shoulders, and drove his knee into her gut. She retched from the force of the blow and as she was doubled over, a hand hit the back of her head so hard that her legs gave out. Dizziness overtook her and before she could really realize what was happening the bag was jerked back over her head. She felt herself shoved forward and her stomach gave a lurch as the helicopter took off with her strapped to its floor but all too soon the rough voices around her faded as her consciousness slipped from her grip. Her last thoughts were of Daryl, his cobalt blue eyes, the musky smell of his skin between the sheets last night, and the taste of his battle rosined lips, edged so sharp, just like the blades of their knives.

_**A/N: Before the chapter started, there was a lovely reviewer by the name of Kaleiburzz who recommended in her review that Fox rip Philip's throat out with her teeth. I had actually written that scene prior to receiving that review, but just the fact that my readers know my character THAT well that she would try something like that deserves mention. You guys are awesome. That is all. **_


	40. Chapter 40

_**Well ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, we're back! We're back and we're getting down to the wire. Almost all of the final edits have been made, so now all that is left pretty much is posting. You guys have been AMAZING and I can't thank you enough for all of your time and sweet words of praise. Now, on with the show! **_

**WinterIsComing01**: _Yowza. Fox better play nice for the time being, lie in wait until she really gets her chance. I have no doubt though that Philip will get his at her hands soon enough. Well done on the infection explanation - that was very admirable and well thought out. The only thing though, and I keep running into this issue myself, and I think it's because of the whole "we're all infected" thing set by Kirkman - if we are all infected and have been since we were born, and we all turn when we die - why is it that the ZA took so long to hit? Is there someone at hospitals, at morgues, on crime scenes, accident sites, etc, ready to put bullets in our heads? How is it that up until NOW everything has been cool with all of us being infected but only now shit is hitting fans everywhere? Again, not a you thing - it's a Walking Dead thing that just makes no sense to me and makes it REALLY hard to work around! Anyway poor baby Daryl. He lost his Fox and his feels are so hurt right now. DX_

Has Fox ever been one to play nice? She'll butt heads hard with Philip the first chance she gets, and it won't blow over well for anybody involved. Ahh, the whole 'we're all infected thing' I haven't read the graphic novels, so I don't know every single nitty gritty detail, but when I heard that, my interpretation was that whatever the disease had been, it had been that pervasive and that contagious that every single person, actively sick or not, had been infected, not necessarily that we were born infected, because yeah…the ZA would have happened a lot sooner had that been the case. So that helped shape my interpretation of the disease. And oh, Daryl, he is pitching such a fit right now. He is aiming his crossbow straight at my skull if anything happens to Fox. He's not taking this well, poor poor guy…

**Emberka-2012**: _Rick can justify himself as he likes, but I think that he himself had to bear this burden. Now, because of his actions Fox in grave danger. I hope the group will catch up with the enemy quickly._

That's one of the things I love about the Walking Dead, the ability to interpret blame and responsibility and who should shoulder the weight of doing what needs to be done. Rick made a calculated decision based on a combination of selfish, and realistic, projections into the future. Rick knows that he could never sacrifice his family for the "greater good." Fox was the perfect outlet for his choice to take the sample from the CDC, cause at the time, she had nobody tying her to the group. But yes, because of his actions, Fox is in danger, and as Daryl said, if she dies from it, he wouldn't be able to look Rick in the face anymore.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Damn Rick, he was selfish and so was Fox because they could have dealt with it differently. I do hope this new kid takes them to the location they have Fox at, and soon! Ugh Merle better do something to stop the abusive Fox is enduring, Daryl will never forgive him and neither will I! Good Chapter, Update Soon! *I'm so sad to hear 'Wildflower' is almost over :(_

Aye, it wasn't just Rick that was selfish in this, Fox was too. She chose not to speak up about the fact that after she made up her mind about Daryl and the group that when push came to shove she wouldn't leave them either. Lol, don't worry, their prisoner won't be resisting them. Daryl can be very persuasive when he wants to be xD. As far as Merle is concerned…I wouldn't count on him to help Fox out much, he has a direct incentive to make sure that she and Daryl stay as far away from each other. Because if she's around, she stands in the way of his hold on Daryl, and he instinctively knows this. I'm sad Wildflower is ending too! It has taken over so much of my life, I'm having trouble filling in the gaps of my time now!

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: _OH MY GOSH. I've been really busy, so I just caught up now, but I'm sooooo glad I did because this story is sooo addicting! There are sooo many twists and I love how it doesn't follow the show. I never know what is going to happen and I can't wait for the last few chapters! This will definitely be one of the stories I reread fully multiple times. I loved the scene at the end with Fox attempting to rip the guy's throat out and I love all of the scenes with Daryl mourning and with Daryl caring for the baby. They truley show all of the sides of Daryl Dixon and the scene with Fox captures her character. Amazing writing as usual and I CANNOT WAIT for the next chapter!_

No worries, I totally understand, there is this thing called life and oft we are to go live in it. Awwww, you'll reread my story? That's so damn awesome. Seriously. Cause I know how long it is and that's A LOT to read. I'm so glad I made it worth it =) Daryl definitely does have many sides to him and I wanted to show that as much as I could, cause he really does have so much depth, and I hope they explore that in the show more =)

* * *

Fox was still very groggy when she felt herself being picked up and moved. The bag was still over her head and so she saw nothing but darkness as she was dragged, her feet scraping the ground, her boots scuffing and kicking up as she weakly struggled in vain. It was brutally cold wherever she was, but not for very long. Within moments the chopping sounds of the helicopter had faded and the wind was shut out and she realized she was inside.

"Take her to the cells. The doctor is going to want to see her." The man she'd bitten spoke curtly and she felt a stiff, large hand on the back of her neck.

"Come on girly, you play nice now." Someone drawled behind her. The hand on her neck squeezed hard and a flare of intense anger spilled over like grease on a bed of lit matches.

"Fuck off!" she snarled. As she moved strength began to flow back into her limbs. She balked her heels and flung her head back, catching someone off guard. Her head struck someone and the hands on her shoulders loosened. She rammed left and right, trying to shake the hold they had on her but as soon as she tried to run she was pounced and tackled to a very cold, hard floor. The pressure on her back crushed the air from her lungs and she gasped, still kicking weakly with her legs until she felt the icy touch of a knife in-between her shoulder blades.

"Easy does it girl. Wouldn't wanna kill ya with your own blade." The drawling voice sounded all too familiar.

"Actually I think you would, unless you're not Merle." She spat back.

Merle hauled her back up to her feet and fisted his hand into her long hair to hold her head still while her own knife was pressed into her back.

"You're coming with me. Now." Merle growled in her ear. He forced her along and thanks to the knife in her back she eased up her resistance. She tried to mentally keep track of how many times she turned left and right but it was a dizzying maze and with the bag over her head it was even harder to tell. What she could tell was that although not subject to the chill anymore, the air down here was cold. It was cold and when she inhaled through her mouth she tasted moisture. She listened carefully as their footsteps echoed around them and the faint booms and scrapes of other things going on in the environment.

"Are we underground?" she asked as she felt herself being shoved down another set of steps.

"Smart Foxy." Merle drawled, his fingers biting into the back of her neck and shoulder. The unexpected shot of pain from the grip on her scarred shoulder caused her to wince. He forced her further along, her feet continuing to scrape the ground as Merle jerked her this way and that until finally she was pulled up to a sharp halt. She heard the jingling sound of keys and the scrape of a door being opened. The knife in her back pricked her and so she took a few steps forward, Merle's hand on the back of her neck pushing her along. The door slammed shut behind her, and from the sound of it Fox was judging it to be a heavy metal door, not a good thing for her.

"Alright you, now I'm gonna take the bag off your head and you be a good Foxy and don't bite me. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to jerk that pretty little tongue out of your mouth and slice it off."

Fox let an actual growl slip from between her teeth. Merle's hand tightened on the bag and yanked it away from her.

The lighting in the room was dim but it still took Fox a minute to adjust. She found herself staring at a damp rock wall with moisture leaking down its surface. There was a faint sound of water dripping as though from a leaky faucet, the rhythmic tapping sound echoing in the stone room.

She turned on her heel and faced Merle who was smirking at her. The metal contraption on his arm gleamed in the lone light bulb that was tangling from the ceiling above a metal table and two chairs. Fox's eyes darted to both of them and with some dismay she realized they were bolted to the ground.

"The hell do you want with me?" she snarled, spittle flying from her lips as she moved to but the table between the two of them.

"Me personally, or our little organization?" Merle drawled, leaning on the table towards her.

"We can start with you." She hissed. If Merle was going to be honest with himself, he could see why his brother was attracted to her. Even bloodied up and handcuffed, she was a fine little woman, muscled and well toned with a maddening expression in her green eyes that right now was somewhere between rage and bloodlust, but it didn't detract from her looks. It was like seeing that killer light in a dog's eyes just before it charges a competing male, going for the kill bite. A sense of authority, of power, and hell if it wasn't one of the sexiest things he'd seen in a long time. Even backed into a corner she didn't have an ounce of cowardice in her. He had to admit it was impressive.

"Well for starters, I'd like a little kiss and make up from our spat back in the mountains. That wasn't so nice of you to go and run me through with a knife." He picked his leg up and stretched it on the table, pulling up his pant leg and revealing the heavy duty bandage taping up his ankle from where she'd stabbed him.

"Any part of you that touches me, you're not getting back." She snarled, the words so gritty it was like listening to gravel being spun in a blender.

"Awww, don't be like that sugar tits." He stepped off the table and crowded towards her. She circled the metal object, keeping both eyes trained on him, just begging for him to make a mistake. She didn't think Daryl would hold it against her if she maimed him, just a little. He had taken her hostage after all.

"You're really gonna put your hands on your brother's girl? Guess we can both see where your loyalty lies." She said coolly, deciding to play another tactic. She knew she couldn't really intimidate him, not handcuffed and trapped down in this place, wherever it was. So she opted for her other option. Driving him crazy.

Merle's blue eyes hardened into circles of ice. "If you keep on with all that bullshit about how you're fucking my brother I'll make you regret it." He growled.

"Ooh, I think someone's jealous." Fox lisped, her eyes flashing maliciously. "What's the matter, Merle? Can't take the thought Daryl might care about someone besides you? Well I got big fucking news for you, you backwoods inbred moron, Daryl and Rick and the rest, they're coming for me! They're coming and they're bringing hell with them, and if I were you, I would do yourself a big favor and take me to them, before someone puts a bullet in your face!"

Merle's face contorted into an expression of rage. He launched himself over the table at her and she jumped back as much as her handcuffed body would allow. The metal contraption on his arm drove into her gut but she ignored the pain and instead shouldered him back against the table, causing him to cry out when the sharp metal corner dug into his back. She heaved her body weight against him as hard as she could and they crashed to the floor, Merle grunting with the effort to try and get her off, Fox letting out high pitched cries of excitement as she thrashed and kicked with all her might, doing her best to give him a serious injury that would stop him from hurting her. They wrestled to the floor and had she had her hands free she might have been successful, but as it was, Merle was no slouch when it came to hand to hand combat. Even with only one hand, he used his free one to grab the back of her neck and knock her skull into the leg of the metal table. Pain bloomed like fire against her head and her legs kicked out weakly. Merle hauled her to her feet and shoved her with one hand over the table, her back flinching on the cold metal surface as his fingers tightened on her throat.

"You'll pay for that one you stupid bitch." He snarled. His fingers closed down over her windpipe and she struggled to breathe, her legs scrabbling against Merle's shins as he held her down over the table, her shoulders all but breaking thanks to the pressure. She choked, her body beginning to writhe wildly as Merle continued throttling the life out of her.

She was saved when the metal door was flung open again. Merle jerked back from the table and let her go and she promptly fell to the floor gasping, her body curling in on itself as she struggled for her breath, trying not to retch as she coughed and wheezed for air. The black spots on her vision began to dissipate but she felt hands on her shoulders pulling her up to her feet.

"Get off of me! I don't need your help." She snarled, trying to jerk out of the relatively calm hands on her shoulders.

"Easy, Fox, it's ok. We don't want to hurt you."

The voice sounded familiar and she realized why. It was the same voice of the man she'd bitten, the same one who had killed Andrea. Before she could resist his advances he had lowered her into the chair at the table and by now she was able to get her eyes open and her vision to clear so she could see him more easily. A faint trace of stubble crossed the planes of his face and she noticed that the wound on his shoulder and neck was bandaged.

"Bullshit." She snarled, her voice still trembling and very raspy from Merle's having tried to throttle her.

"No, it's true. We don't want to hurt you. And to prove it, if you be still and calm down, I'll take the cuffs off." He pulled the key out from his pocket and Fox felt her breath hitch in her throat. Her eyes darted to Merle who was standing in the corner of the room, watching the situation play out, obviously not key to tangle with her again.

Fox weighed the situation. Sure she could continue fighting but now it would be two on one, and this man had a gun strapped to his leg and had already killed Andrea, and possibly Sophia as well. She didn't think he'd hesitate to kill her either. Her belt of knives had long since been taken from her; she reasoned they must have stolen it when she was passed out in the helicopter on the way here. But she still had a switchblade in her shoe, she could feel the folded up blade pressing against her ankle. Now all she needed to do was wait for the opportune moment.

"What do you want with me?" Fox demanded, lowering some of the viciousness in her voice as the man moved back across the table from her and took the other chair. Only for a moment before he got up and turned to Merle.

"Merle I think it would be alright if you left. Go and find the doctor and let him know we're back. I think he'll be eager to talk to her." His voice was calm but Fox never let her eyes leave his for a second. Her heart was beating like hummingbird's on steroids. She could feel the softest press of her switchblade in her shoe, and as much as she could she tried to steady herself. She would probably only get one shot at this. She had to be ready.

"Aight boss." Merle said before walking out of the room, letting it close with a loud clang behind him.

"Allow me to apologize on Merle's behalf. I think you two got off on the wrong foot. Literally." His tone was almost to the point of humor now but Fox hadn't budged an inch from her position. When he saw the steely look in her eye he was completely undeterred.

"My name is Philip, and as to what we want with you, we don't want anything more from you than what you'd be willing to give."

Fox's eyes narrowed. "Uh huh. Cut the crap. You want something, bad enough to swoop in on our house and shoot us to bits. I saw what you did to Andrea." Her voice was dark but most of the biting edge was gone. A deeper calm was taking over. She was beginning to recognize this asshole. She didn't feel so on edge now. He was a dark version of Rick, the part of Rick that she kept contained and held back from the group. The part of him that had wanted to kill his best friend. The part of him that had struck at her with lethal force after she posed as Shane. The side that was cool and deceptive and possibly helpful, but the hand that you reached out for would have a knife in it, and the blade would bite deep through her palm. She knew this and so she approached the situation carefully. Very carefully.

"Andrea. Was she the blonde who went down?" Philip asked calmly.

"More than a dozen of you shooting us at full blast and you only managed to kill one of ours. Think you need to train your recruits better." Just because she was being careful didn't mean she'd roll over, especially not in front of him. It would go straight to his head and she'd lose all semblance of strength or credibility if she did.

A muscle in Philip's cheek twitched and his jaw tightened. Only for a moment though before the cool, indifferent veneer went back up. But she'd seen that burning flash in his eyes. The same flash she'd seen when she'd bitten him. She was looking to see more of it, just to know how far he could be pushed.

"It was regrettable it had to come to that. Before the world ended I was a staunch opponent of capitol punishment, and even now, when all is said and done, I dislike killing." He paced in front of her, running his fingers through his hair, turning back and forth in front of her while the light bulb dangled above the table. Both of their reflections gleamed dully off the surface as his hands leaned on the table across from her. "Killing is a waste. It's a waste of potential and energy. And in this world, we can use every bit that's available."

Fox shrugged. "That ain't my problem. You pulled the trigger. Literally you. Not just your men, but you. I'm surprised Merle was ok with you open firing on his brother's group." She spoke nonchalantly, as if she didn't care. She sank down into that place in the deepest corner of her mind where she remembered her life before Daryl, before the group, before she'd had something in her hands that was so important she'd of died to defend it. That place was dark, cold, bereft and raw, aching from wounds that had yet to heal, but the only thing that mattered now was the living. She could not help the dead.

"I had my men under orders not to fire on Daryl. He would have been spared. And he'll continue to be under that protection, if you'll be so kind as to help us out. In fact, I'd be quite willing to extend that protection to every single member of your group. Even take all of you in. We have resources here. Food, water, ammunition, shelter from the biters. There's over a hundred and fifty of us right here in this base. We live together, we work together. We protect each other. We have built a life for ourselves, Fox. You and your group would be welcomed to be apart of that."

Fox shifted in her chair, her ankles crossing lightly before straightening. "I'm listening." She said. She smoothed her face over and made sure her expression was not so piqued that the deception could be spotted, but just enough to appear curious.

Philip stood up from where he was leaning on the table. "You're quite the survivor, aren't you?" he asked as he came up towards her. From her position in the chair and him standing over her he was significantly taller than she was, but she didn't allow a single ounce of intimidation to pass over her face. She played it as though she were mildly interested in what he was saying. Like he was trying to buy her a drink in the bar and she was just using him for free booze.

"You could say that." She said casually. Her wrists shifted behind her. "Though these things kind of make it hard, wouldn't you say?"

He nodded, his lips twitching slightly. "Merle says you're dangerous, that I shouldn't let you go, but I think you and I understand each other. See, I know what its like dealing with men like Merle. They're hard and abrasive, and so you push back with equal force, because what else can you do? If you're worried about our little spat earlier," he lightly brushed his fingers against the bandage which was peeking through his shirt "Well that was my fault. I provoked you when you clearly were riled from the battle. You're certainly not the kind to let someone walk over you without a fight."

His hand reached out and stroked her cheek with his fingers. It took every ounce of her control not to flinch away, or to reach out and try to bite his finger off. She had to be careful. She had to time this correctly. She'd only have one shot. Instead she stared up at him, cooling her expression as if not impressed with his light touch.

"Never." It was almost a croon, if there had not been the edge of a challenge in it.

Philip smiled down at her, his eyes darkening. She could see the wheels spinning, and they were going all the right ways. "I understand. We're the same way in that respect. So I'm not worried about releasing you." And with that he crouched down and slid the key into her cuffs, unlocking the metal bracelets and pulling them off her wrist with a deft clicking sound. He tucked the cuffs back into his pockets and stepped back to give her room to breathe and she gingerly rubbed her wrists to soothe a little of the pain while Philip went back around the table.

"I think you and I both know that you were brought here for a reason, Fox. It's quite a simple reason. Do you know what it is?"

Fox leaned back in her chair and kicked her feet up on the desk, her scuffed boots dull in the harsh light from the light bulb. She realized it was an insolent little move, but she couldn't have them thinking he'd won her over so quickly, he'd be suspicious otherwise. Someone, either Shane or Merle, would have had to tell them of her loyalties, or at least what they suspected of them.

"I have an idea." She told him. She glanced him up and down briefly as though assessing a piece of furniture she was thinking about buying and noticed a little rectangular object in the pocket of his khakis. "Don't suppose I can bum a cigarette off of you. Been out for weeks." It was a tactical move. She was chumming the waters, seeing if he'd bite.

His face broke into a pleased expression. The blood was drawing in the shark, and she struggled not to let on that she was slowly gaining the upper hand. "Sure thing. Our supply runners just brought back a carton a few days ago." He pulled the pack out of his pocket and held it to her. She plucked a cigarette free and he lit a match from a small book, holding it to the cigarette until it caught fire. It was his bait as well, offering her what looked like a good life, to see if she would buy in. They were dancing independently and drawing closer together. Her heart beat fast and her blood raced through her veins.

_Momma always told you don't play games. You'll get hurt. _Her sister's voice echoed around inside her mind and inwardly she stood at the darkened doorway of a hostel or motel room or wherever place they'd holed up in a new city. She looked back at her charge and smirked.

_Never be afraid of pain. Never be afraid of what someone else can do to you. Make sure you're never in that position. Now sleep tight. I'll be back. _

She took a deep, deep drag as he put the flame from the match out and she lowered her feet and sat up straight. The nicotine and smoke stung her throat and mouth after very limited exposure for months, but it still felt good. Now, time for the next line.

"You brought me here because Shane told you I have something you need." She answered him, blowing a stream of smoke out of her nose, turning her head slightly so he wouldn't have to wave it away. When she looked back she saw a bright spark in his blue green eyes. Her heart thrummed harder and she sarcastically wondered if it would have been just a tad too much to ask for a shot of whiskey to steady her nerves.

"Clever girl." Philip said, tilting back in his chair but continuing to watch her. "When Shane first became aware of what we were searching for, we had been out of contact with him for quite some time. See after our initial meeting in Georgia you all fled the South for New York but my boss wanted a closer inspection of the CDC and surrounding area. Once our inspection was complete, we returned here to base which is a considerable distance from where we started. By the time we realized that our property was missing, you all were hunkering down in the valley. So it wasn't for a long while that Shane told us what you had. What Rick Grimes had given you." Now he leaned forward, a curled edge through his tone.

Fox maintained her position, moving neither forward or back. She took another drag on the cigarette and exhaled before she answered.

"Key word of that last sentence being had. He took it back. I don't have it anymore. Quite frankly, I don't even know what it is." She looked across the table and dared to meet his eyes. It was exposing herself, depending on his skill at reading people, but it was the only way she'd be able to get a read on him. And what she saw said that he didn't believe her.

"Why would you hold something for Rick if you didn't know what it was? Why would he hide it from you? If he didn't trust you enough to know what it was, why did he trust you enough to hang onto it?" Philip reasoned. His tone was still relatively friendly, but there was a stiffer edge.

"Did Shane not tell you my unique entry into the group? Born out of blood, not acceptance, as the others had been. Even Merle and Daryl had a better welcome than I did. Rick saw fit to trust me with it on the very basis that I could not be trusted. I could not be trusted to stay true to the group, and he was right. For a very long time, I had nothing binding me to them. I could have walked away at any time. But Rick…Rick could never leave his family, and after a while, could never leave the group. He just doesn't have that in him. So he thought it best I hold it. If something were to happen, if we were overrun, he knew that I could slip out unharmed and thus ensure its survival." She inhaled on her cigarette again, holding the smoke in her lungs for as long as possible, almost able to feel the nicotine coursing through her system like caffeine.

"And now?" Philip asked softly. "What of your loyalty to them now?"

Fox exhaled, thick plumes of smoke spilling from her mouth, her mind moving a million miles a minute. If she said she wasn't loyal to them, it might cause him to try harder, and thus make it easier to fool him and so she could cut his throat and make an escape. But he could know that she was lying, based on what Shane or Merle might have told him, or even what he'd seen at the battle at the house, or the lake, depending on if he had been there. And if she said she was loyal to them, how hard would he try to use that against her? What lengths would he go to hurt her with that? As she ran this idea through her mind, she remembered the frozen corpse of Sophia and Andrea's skull blown open, gushing blood onto the snow. She looked him in the eye and although her face was passive, inside there was a roiling sea of hate for the man across from her. He had taken so much, and she wanted nothing more than to destroy him. But she would have to wait for her chance, and she would have to trust Rick and Daryl to do what was necessary when the time came, no matter the cost.

"My loyalties lie with those who earn them." She answered as she finished exhaling. "If Merle hasn't told you already, I'll spare you the possible shock of finding out later, I'm…involved…with his little brother, Daryl. The one you promised you'd protect." She offered up that nugget to gauge his reaction. It was something she wouldn't have been able to hide anyway, she had already told Merle the truth. True though she intended to kill the man sitting across from her and escape, she obviously couldn't let him know that. Not until the opportune moment came along. She flexed her foot beneath the table and with her other foot began to very slowly inch the folded up switchblade from her ankle along her calf to make it easier to grab when the time came, all the while keeping eye contact with Philip.

Philip watched her with a very calculated gaze. "Merle expressed some interest in having Daryl taken into our fold. And you certainly with your skill would be a welcome addition. But there's a few things I need to know first."

Fox nodded calmly, taking the last drag of her cigarette and holding in the smoke until she thought her lungs would burst before exhaling the thick plume. She dropped the butt onto the floor and crushed it beneath the heel of her boot, still watching Philip intently. Her switchblade was within easier reach now, and now her heart was beating hard and the blood in her veins was warm with the fast rising need for a fight.

"Number one, where is the sample that Rick took from the CDC, and number two, need we be afraid of your group trying to take retaliation for what happened when you were brought in." There was a tightness to his face, a tension in his shoulders and chest, a suppressed grip in his hands. This information was important to him.

"I told you. Rick took it back. I don't have it, and I have no idea where the group is. And two, I'd say at the very least you need to worry about Daryl. Whether he will convince the others to come with him in searching for me is up for debate. But Daryl? I'd be worried about him." Her delivery was cool and as slick as an oil spill. Now she was baiting him. It was dangerous but she was ready for it. Or at least there was no time like the present to find out if she was ready.

"I think we can handle one lone man." Philip murmured softly as she continued to hold his gaze.

Fox's lips curled. "Then you obviously don't know Daryl." She said, having to actually repress a huff of laughter. They had no idea what game they were playing, and even though the odds were stacked against Daryl and the entire group, she had no doubt they'd blow this place to smithereens before they let her die here. Daryl wouldn't abandon her, and Rick wouldn't abandon Daryl. Not after already losing so much.

Philip tilted his head and the air in the room changed, simmering down once again. "The other thing I wanted to know is how much did Rick tell you about what he knew. There was supposed to have been a report drawn up by one of the doctors here in camp explaining the nature of the find. He must have told you something. I don't believe for an instant you let him leave you holding something even he couldn't handle without you pressing him for information."

Fox shrugged. "Rick kept me in the dark. All he told me was that he'd found it in the CDC and that it needed to be kept warm and if I would look after it for him. But as increasing talk about this thing goes on, I do find myself curious as to what it is. It must be valuable to you, or you wouldn't be so interested in its whereabouts. So tell me Philip, what is it that Rick swiped from you?" Rick had told her a half truth about the nature of the highly sought pendant, but she had known even then it was not the full truth. He'd said that she need not know the full truth, and that if ever a day came when she did, he would tell her.

_Screwed me over on that one, Rick. Gonna be some payback for that later. _She thought darkly. It wasn't true of course. As soon as she was free of this place she'd be relieved to see him, and all of the group, but of course her main concern was for a man with a pair of steely cobalt blue eyes who by now had probably raised an army of hell to come marching on this place. She smirked inwardly at the thought but forced the muscles in her face to remain neutral.

Philip got up from the table. Fox's instinct was to dive right now for her switchblade but she restrained herself, trying to suppress every twitch in her hands and arms. She sensed another change in the room, a difference in his energy.

"That's not of your concern." He said dismissively. He turned his back on her and now she too rose from the table, keeping her hands on the metal surface, leaning on it lightly.

"So if you have what you want from me, am I free to go? Cause I can already tell you, Daryl won't want to stay here, not after what's happened, and I'm inclined to go with him. We've been on the road this whole time, and we haven't done half bad for ourselves. So although you've been rather generous, I'd like to go. As soon as possible." She kept her voice firm but not aggressive. She carefully cleaned up the hate that threatened to slip through at the thought of all that they had lost so far as they ran from place to place, pursued by an army of undead and men with an agenda that didn't include sparing their lives.

He turned back to her. "Oh…well…I'm afraid we can't do that. At least not yet. You'll have to stay with us a while longer. The chief of staff of our medical team is going to want to take a look at you, and I'd hate to just street you out in the cold before any member of your group arrives to collect you."

Her eyes narrowed. "So let me ask you Philip, did that bite on your shoulder need stitches?" She couldn't help it, her temper got the better of her. She hated bullshitting, she hated kissing ass, and she hated lying. All she wanted now was to hurt him, to cause him pain for the pain he had caused her. Now that she knew he really was lying, that it really was all just bullshit. It was time to stop playing games.

It got him to turn around. She smirked at him just to be a shit, knowing it would piss him off. There was a great deal of advantage when it came to her comparatively younger years to many of the other survivors. Just by the factor of her age she could draw the ire out of someone, and it appeared to be working on this guy, as she had figured it would. He clearly saw her as a teenager being difficult in this moment, not as an opponent worth his suspicion.

_I don't have to be worth more of your time than the time it'll take to bleed you dry _she thought to herself.

"You know that was rather unfortunate. I'd rather just put it behind us. My offer for you and your group to stay still stands on the table. I'll leave you to think it over a while." He turned to go and put his hand on the door, thrusting in the key into the lock.

She moved out from around the table. Every twitch of her muscles against her switchblade in her shoe made her heart pound and her breathing ease. She could do this. Would do this. She had killed a man before. She could do it again.

"I don't think you're listening, Philip. Either that or your just an idiot. I don't want your damn offer. I want out of here, right now." She growled. She was within reach of him, but just barely. She only had one shot, she had to do this right. He had a gun strapped to his leg and she was relatively certain he'd use it on her. Her heart was pumping hard against her ribs like the bass shaking the speakers of a stereo. Nothing like gambling with one's life to get the blood pumping.

He turned back towards her. His eyes were cool, flickering with authority and power and she wanted nothing more than to carve a piece of his face off for it. She'd seen looks like that before. Looks from men who knew they have the power and they're not above flexing it in your face just to make you feel like shit. She could have killed him for that alone.

"You'll have to wait. I'm sure it won't be much trouble. We'll see that your needs are taken care of. If Daryl does decide to come and find you, we'll negotiate your release with the return of our property." His lips curled as his hand tightened on the handle to the cell.

"You won't negotiate shit with Daryl. Or Rick. Or me." She shoved her body against his banging him into the door and at the same time as she threw all her weight on him she dove her hand down and yanked her switchblade free. He cried out with surprise and pain as he knocked up against the metal door while she flicked the blade open with a sharp clicking sound. She reared her arm back to stab him but his elbow came down and caught her right beneath the ribs. She choked on her own breath and he took the opportunity to shove against her. She staggered back from him and struggled to keep her footing, skidding on the slick surface of the floor. She flung herself back, keeping a firm hold on the knife, both hands and feet on the floor as she struggled to keep from overbalancing, but she took the opportunity presented. She flung herself at Philip, hurtling towards him with as much force as she could muster. She slammed herself into his abdomen, shoving him into the wall, her knife reaching to plunge into him again but he lunged down and knocked his skull against hers. More pain exploded behind her eyes and she struggled to see, dazed from the blow. Hands twisted on her arm and she howled as he slung her away from him. She crashed into the bolted down table, her spine flinching at the impact. He came up and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to bow in on herself. He raised back for another blow but she twisted, trying to roll away but he caught her by the back of the neck. He hauled her to her feet and shoved her face first into the table just as the door flung open. The sound of several pairs of feet pushing through the door could be heard.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she kicked violently underneath him, his entire body pressed down against her while his hand squeezed the back of her neck. Rage flooded her veins but her struggles proved to be in vain.

"Philip, what the hell is going on?"

This was a new man's voice, one she'd never heard before, but her head was twisted away from the door so she couldn't see who had entered.

"She came at me with a knife!" Philip panted, still restraining Fox who was writhing on the table, kicking and snarling as much as she could. Said switchblade had clattered to the floor and Fox heard the newcomer pick up the blade and set it on the table beside her.

"Well she certainly is a fighter isn't she? Bring her upstairs." At his command Fox felt many pairs of hands on her, jerking her up and then shoving another bag over her head, blocking her vision. She kicked and struggled as much as she could but she was hauled out of the room nonetheless. She screamed and howled the whole way but she was eventually led into another room with a lock on it, stripped down to her bra and panties, and strapped onto a metal table. The bag had been jerked off her head but now all she was staring into was a blinding white light that blocked her field of vision. When she twisted her head she found herself staring at another cinderblock wall, and on the other side a metal door. She could see nothing else but those two things. She bucked and kicked against the restraints but they held fast. Screaming with all her might she banged her head back on the table, but it did nothing except give her a splitting headache.

Outside the room, Philip, with the doctor at his side, were watching through the small pane of glass in the door. These rooms had been especially designed to deal with people like her during the doctor's experiments, they weren't concerned about her escape, even if she could somehow slip free of her restraints.

"She's quite spirited, isn't she?" the doctor asked, his tone almost fond as he stared through the glass at their prisoner on the table. The tattoo on her front almost seemed alive as she struggled, the different shades and swirls of inks writhing as she bucked against the straps.

"Indeed. But she's dangerous. Manipulative. Deadly." Philip said. His ribs were sore from where she'd struck him but he was more thankful he'd managed to stop her before she'd been able to stab him.

"Did she say anything about our quarry?" he asked.

"Not yet. But when you're finished, I'd like another stab at her." Philip glanced at the doctor out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge the man's mood. It was always difficult to tell with him.

"What will you do with her?" the doctor questioned, as if only mildly interested, his main focus still on Fox who's blood curdling screams could only faintly be heard from outside the heavy door.

"Those are my methods to decide, aren't they?" Philip asked quietly. It might have been overstepping his bounds to refuse the doctor, but he didn't really feel like explaining himself, or his plans for their guest.

The doctor shrugged. "I suppose so. And once I'm through with her, she's yours to do with as you like. But I warn you. If you do not get me what I need, it'll be you who takes her place." He twisted the handle on the door and stared at Philip with an expression far colder, and far more severe, than even the most bitter winter chill.


	41. Chapter 41

_**Well ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, we're back! This chapter is pretty long, I did an overhaul of a good part of it right before I went to upload it, so I'm sorry if there's any typos or grammatical errors. I hope you guys enjoy, things aren't looking so good for one hot tempered red-head...**_

**Jerrie Higarashi**: _Ah! Finally! Lol I'm so damn slow! Don't worry! I've finally caught up and you've been just fucking awesome. This chapter was just amazing. I loved it so much! I'd like to see Philip try a lil something something on Fox ;) Just to see her pissed off more and blow up, lol I am dad that Andrea and Carol passed/: well, not so much for Andrea, she's alright but I am sad that Carol died. You did a wonderful job playing out her final moments, had her cremated instead of buried. You're a genius. Lori's death was spot on and I liked how Rick's reaction matched the scene and tone of the moment. Everything was awesome. Please do keep going my dear :p_

Well hello there my friend! Glad to see you're back, I've missed seeing you write in. Oh don't worry, there will be plenty of Philip trying things on Fox, and it is not going to go well for either of them I must say. Ah yes, Andrea and Carol. You know in last night's episode I could have reached through the screen and strangled Andrea myself so I understand your sentiments, lol. I'm glad that all of the emotions throughout these couple roller coaster chapters have rung true, I did my best to be accurate to the characters, so I'm glad it seems to have paid off =)

**FanFicGirl10**: _Poor Fox, Daryl and the others need to save her soon. Damn Merle i hope he dies a painful death, one does not hit a woman especially when she's basically family. Ugh this doctor guy bettet not hurt Fox, but he does seem like the type to do so :( Suspence, Update Soon!_

Ah, but the thing with Merle is that he's intensely jealous of the bond that Fox and his brother have. He hates her for it, because in essence, she's stolen Daryl away from Merle, and without Daryl, Merle pretty much has nothing, and Merle knows this. He doesn't trust Philip or the surroundings in which he's found himself, so if anything, its just more motivation to eliminate Fox. And oooooh the doctor, I'm looking forward to you guys meeting him which you shall very, very soon ;)

**Kaleiburzz**: _Okay, wow. Um, I just had an awesome review written out, and I accidentally hit a wrong key and deleted it. Fuuuuu- That's okay though. I loved commenting on your chapters! First off! This was an amazing chapter, quite possibly my favorite yet. The great big cat and mouse game that this was, is frankly, pure awesomeness. I really liked the whole Merle sizing Fox up, admitting that he understood Daryl's infatuation, was great. I was wondering what Merle's opinion was on the subject. I also liked Fox's commentary. Her rationalizing maiming Merle "just a bit" was amusing to no end! Something about it seemed so... I can't find the right word... childish? It was hilarious! It really was an eye-opening "Oh shit" moment for me when you compared Rick and Philip. I had never thought of it like that. Not even once. How you described him as the darker version, the side of Rick that Fox has been controlling and hiding from the group... Fucking wow. Also, I remembered that scene when Rick was losing his shit and Fox put him back on the rails... how she had to bite down, hard, on Rick's neck... And now with the Governor, and Fox going for the jugular... Was that intentional? Because that was so cool when I realized. This entire scene in general was jaw dropping. How you weaved together this grand game for them to play. Sizing each other up, scoping each other out. I loved it. So skillfully written! You, and through extension, Fox, have such a way with words. "Born out of blood, not acceptance" was just fucking wow. And the her delivery being as cool and as slick as an oil spill? That was a lovely figure of speech. Just lovely. Ugh! I am sooo looking forward to meeting the doctor in the next chapter! Hurry up and update already, lazy!_

I definitely wanted a little bit of a Fox and Merle moment where Merle could get a decent look at her and maybe at least begin to come to some kind of terms with why Daryl's with her, at least to rationalize it in some shape or form. He has no respect for the bond between the two of them, but now he at least has some kind of skewed reason why. And of course Fox has absolutely no respect for Merle; he's tried to kill her once and is directly involved with her imprisonment, and it disgusts her that he doesn't care enough about Daryl to help her, after everything Daryl has done, and would have been willing, to do for him. So yeah, she's not really opposed to hurting him xD. And then of course we have Philip and Fox sizing each other up. From very early on in the show when Philip was introduced, I immediately saw a dark parallel between the two of them. Philip is maybe what Rick could have become…or still could become, depending on the way things play out. Fox instinctively realizes that there is a darkness in Rick, there are very few souls without it, and before the world went to hell, it was buried and non existent in him for the most part, but now that the world's ended and they're being pushed to further and further extremes, it shows itself more and more. Fox shows her loyalty by containing it and hiding it from the others, understanding that Rick is only human and he can't always push everything under the rug. I'm always drawn back to that scene in Season 2 when Rick killed Shane. He deceived him to do it. He didn't have to…but he chose to, and the deception was so much deeper and smoother and more manipulative than anything I've seen Philip do in the show thus far, so Fox isn't unfamiliar with the situation that she now finds herself in with Philip. Mm, the parallel bites Fox gave to Rick and Philip. It wasn't an intentional parallel on my part, but it does have a certain symmetry now that I think about it. She bit Rick to jolt him down into reality before he could really hurt her, she never intended to kill him. With Philip, she was trying to rip his throat out with her teeth, but she missed her mark. The whole scene between the two of them was them sizing each other up, understanding exactly who and what they're dealing with, and I think they both have their answers now ;)

**KatieDesignerShades**: _Hi! So one of my friends showed me this story a few days back. I started Monday night and finished Wednesday at like three o'clock in the morning. So I am going to say that I absolutely LOVE the story. :) It is simply phenomenal! I like how it doesn't follow the same story line of the show or the comic books; it's unique and really fun to read! Like the insane amount of plot twists! I assume one thing and then it turns out to be something else.I really am excited to see this reunion between Daryl and Merle. Like once Daryl realizes that his brother had something to do with the capture of Fox. Will blood turn out to be thicker than water or does love and loyalty run deeper than blood? I'm thinking that he will be caught in between though. Anyways really REALLY amazing story line! Once I finished it I was like 'Crap. I now have to wait for an update.' :P_

Well hello there new reviewer, nice to see to you chime in! Someone showed you my story? I WAS REFERRED!? THAT IS AWESOME! Sorry, I still get excited when I get any kind of 'publicity' like that. If you don't mind me asking, who was it that showed it to you, someone on the site? If so, I'd like to send them a thank you message, or at least if you would be so kind, extend my deep thanks to them on my behalf for showing you my story, it means a great deal to me as an author =D Ahhh, yes, the inevitable meeting of the two brothers, I'm really looking forward to bringing that to you guys. I'm taking cues from the show, but also factoring in everything that's happened with Fox, so it's coming out quite interesting ;) Thank you again for writing in!

**Emberka-2012**: _Clever Fox. Cunning and calculating. Badly that she could not get rid of Phillip. But she understood the nature of these people: all that they tell a lie. I'm interested in the main question - where Daryl?_

Aye, Fox is a very clever girl but sometimes her stubbornness gets in the way and it can cost her dearly. But she definitely has Philip's number so to speak, she knows his game, and she's not about to play fair. And where is Daryl you ask? He's coming, and he's bringing hell with him ;)

**WinterIsComing01**: _I'm kinda starting to suspect thattttttt... This doc is Jenner maybe?! THAT would be a twist and yet another way to seamlessly incorporate more of the show/comic into your story! Fox duked it out as much as she could but she still couldn't quite get in enough to do some damage to Philip. But that will just be fodder for later on when she does I suspect... I'm interested to see what happens if/when Rick and Daryl et al. come and find her. I sense a bloodbath ensuing. So if there isn't much more of your story left, can we reasonably hope for some type of happy ending? Pease?_

Oooh, is it Jenner? Read and find out! I shan't keep you guessing for too much longer ;) There is definitely an ensuing bloodbath my friend, you have no idea. Fox isn't about to make her captivity easy on herself, and when shit hits the fan…well…you'll just have to wait and see ;) As far as the ending is concerned, you shall just have to wait on baited breath now won't you? XD Ok, that was a little bit mean, but I do at least promise that all the questions will be answered =)

**NIGHTSCREAM**:_ I love how you've devated from canon and made this story your own, and just as good as Kirkman's in my humble opinion. I noticed in your notes that you haven't read the comic's, I have them available (scanned to computer) if your intrested in reading them. You'll need a online comic reader though (I use Cdisplyex, its free). If your intrested pm me or skype me (skype name is Nightscream452) and I can send them to you via skype._

Wow. That's just flipping awesome. I am always always always flattered beyond belief when people tell me that my story is on par with the original. And you are very kind to offer to send me the comics. Unfortunately because of school and work the last thing I need is another distraction, but I will bare your offer in mind and if things slow down for me, I'll be sure to remember who to ask for them =)

* * *

Daryl couldn't sleep worth a damn. Even tending to Judith in the middle of the night when she woke wasn't enough to quiet him. He knew he'd regret it when he had to drive the bike in the morning, or whenever the storm let up, but he couldn't stop the restlessness. He'd paced around the farm house's living room and kitchen and halls so many times that by now he must have worn a tread into the floor. When he did try and lay down every time his eyes closed, he relived that horrible moment when he'd seen Fox being taken down, her red hair flashing amongst the black of the enemy's uniforms and the white of the snow. They'd wrestled her down hard and thrown her into the SUV even as she'd kicked and screamed. Fighting for her life.

He couldn't get it out of his brain, what they might be doing to her. If they were hurting her…causing her pain…abusing her…his stomach twisted violently at the thought. She was a woman, and he knew what men could be capable of. His blood burned as though it were gasoline set to blaze at the thought. He'd kill them all if they laid a hand on her. Slowly, painfully, intimately, he'd have them begging on their hands and knees for sweet, sweet death. The more he imagined their grisly fates, the more wound up he became.

"Daryl…you need to sleep."

He spun sharply, buck knife in hand, facing Rick with a wild eyed expression, his chest sucking down air hard in anticipation of some kind of attack.

"You think you could sleep if you knew someone had a hold of Lori?" he asked, his voice rough with a low growl. He lowered his knife and tucked it back into its sheathe on his leg, his eyes following Rick's over to the little cardboard box where Judith was sleeping. Rick approached her and checked in to make sure she was still sound asleep before turning back to Daryl.

"No." he answered honestly. "But it ain't gonna solve anything if you crash your bike tomorrow as we're driving."

"I'll be fine." Daryl growled. He couldn't get the words to soften. There was too much anger, too much pain…too much fear.

"She came to me after Lori died." Rick spoke softly, his voice rough with pain and bad memories, causing Daryl to look at him. He was still standing near Judith's makeshift crib on the table in the kitchen, his eyes moving from his daughter, to Daryl, to the prisoner in the living room, and back to the baby. The kid they had taken hostage was all but hog tied on the living room floor. He'd woken up earlier in the night and began to whine and beg for his freedom so Daryl had taken a rag from the kitchen and stuffed it down his throat to shut him up. Since then the place had been quiet except for the soft moaning of the wind mouthing at the corners of the house.

"She told me." Daryl said, the words grating in between his teeth.

"I was trapped in a place where memory was better than reality." Rick murmured, looking back at Daryl, meeting the man's eyes. "Memory and fantasy. She came and risked her life to bring me out of that place." He paused for a moment as Daryl's eyes hardened into chips of blue slate. "We will bring her back, Daryl. We will."

"How did she risk her life?" he demanded, his hand curling against his buck knife again.

Rick sighed quietly and moved away from the table but still giving Daryl the space he needed. "I blamed Shane for Lori's death. I blamed him but he was already dead and I had nothing to take the rage out on. She came and offered herself as a replacement. A fighting replacement." He pulled the edge of his shirt aside and exposed the bite at his neck which had only just begun to heal.

"She did that?" Daryl asked, coming closer to inspect the wound. When he withdrew and stared at Rick, it was with questioning eyes.

"Yes. We were sparring, and it was to the point that it was do or die. She bit me and brought me back down. But my point is that she's a fighter. There's only ever been one man to ever be able to fight me off before, but she held her own against me. She ain't giving up, Daryl. We know where they took her, and as soon as the storm eases, we'll head there, and we'll get her back." His instinct was to approach the man again but he knew Daryl well enough to know that when distressed it was better to give him space.

Daryl tried to speak but the words were choked in his throat. Choked with pain and anger and fear and so many things he didn't ever want to see the light of day. When they finally did come, they were restrained, twisted into submission, but still present.

"You know how she is. I'm afraid that she'll push them one time too far and they'll kill her. Or hurt her…use her." Pain shot through him like he'd been burned and he leaned forward, his hands gripping the back of the couch, his fingers biting in so deep the knuckles began to turn white. His head bowed forward between his arms as he struggled to maintain a hold on himself and not come apart at the seams.

Rick dared to approach now. He leaned against the couch as well, his hands curled against each other as he stared at the remains of the smoldering fire in the fire place, looking past their prisoner who was at the foot of the couch. He looked over at his friend and when he spoke it was with a depth of conviction that could only come from a leader.

"Don't underestimate her, Daryl. She's far more perceptive than she lets on. She knew they were after her, she must have suspected what Shane had to have told them. She didn't charge out there to die."

Daryl glanced at the man with wary, almost suspicious eyes. Rick forgave the look just seconds after it passed between them. He understood. Daryl had never been in a position to have to trust a woman with another man before, but the former sheriff felt it well worth to disclose a few of the things he and Fox had talked about the few times they had been alone together.

"You know how she is. She'll piss someone off just because she can, screw the consequences. Remember how she was when we first met her? She stayed hung up in a tree for two days just to spite us." Daryl's voice was rough with raw pain and fear.

Rick nodded. "But that was before she had something to lose. She cares for you, Daryl. More than I think even she truly realizes." He leaned against the couch for a moment and stared out into the dark snowstorm blowing outside. "And she knows how rare it is. She told me once that she realized how lucky she was, to have found us when she did. She wouldn't throw that aside carelessly. Whatever her intentions were, they were not to lose you. Or us."

Daryl's fingers loosened on the back of the couch and he stared at Rick with hard eyes. "She tries to pretend she's selfish. That she doesn't care about anybody or anything but herself, and maybe me. But when it counts, she gives everything, to the point where she offered herself up as a goddamn sacrifice. It's what she's done this whole fucking time." His shoulders were shaking with the effort to restrain himself, both physically and emotionally. He could feel the shuddering in his bones, like glass being rattled in an earthquake, threatening to shatter and never be whole again.

Rick paused for a long time before he spoke again, and this time it was calculated and careful when he did. "When we get there…when we go inside their base and spring her free, if it comes down to a fight, what's going to happen if you and Merle cross paths?"

Daryl looked up now and stared at him. "He's attacked her once already. He's my brother, but I won't let him hurt her anymore."

"And what about us?" Rick asked very softly. "If it comes down between him and the rest of us. Who are you with?"

Daryl's stomach tightened. "I've answered this before." He growled, the words grating together deep in his throat.

Rick continued to meet his gaze steadily, softening his words and his tone as he did so. "I know. But it's different face to face, and you know it. I don't know the history between you and Merle…but I know men like him, how they can make you think."

Daryl's eyes hardened again. "Merle's my big brother and if he ever did anything for me, it was to make sure I could handle myself, and that really is all you need to know about what goes on between me and him. But I ain't Merle's bitch. He ain't been around for almost a year. When we go in and bring Fox out, he'll wanna come with me, unless he's lost his mind between last summer and now. It's his call what he does." Daryl fixed Rick with a steely stare, unyielding and unwilling to dig any deeper into this.

"And you? If he wants you to go with him? What then?" Rick asked softly.

Daryl's lips twitched. "I'ma do whatever it is I have to do to make sure Fox is safe. I ain't leaving her. If Merle wants to tag along with us, he's gonna have to play by the rules, and that ain't in Merle's cards but I don't care." He looked away from Rick, and when he spoke next, the sheriff understood. His next words were far too raw to hold his eye contact. "It'll piss him off something royally, hell, maybe it'll even hurt that ice cold heart of his, but between him and Fox, it's her. Every time. He fucked that chance away when he left me behind. That's on him now." He couldn't look Rick in the face and the two men were quiet for a long, long time, so long that the silence was beginning to sink deep into Daryl's bones and was almost enough to coax him into lying back down.

"Did she ever tell you her name?" Rick asked quietly, the sound disturbing the heavy silence in the room.

Daryl shifted and looked back at him and nodded once. "Yes, she did." When he saw Rick's expectant gaze his lips twitched into a shallow, rueful expression. "I promised I'd keep it a secret."

"When?" came the soft question.

Daryl sank back down into the memory, wishing that it didn't hurt so much, wishing that she was there at his side, the warmth of her arm against his while they kept watch, the smell of her skin in his nose, the feel of her presence against him. He tried to block the memory of her kiss when they'd been holed up in that cave and she had all but devoured him, tearing open the last of his resistance with unprecedented force.

"The night Shane tried to kill me. I'd tried getting back to camp but there was no way it was going to happen, not without help. She found me in the night and we holed up in a cave until morning."

Rick stared at him, a mixture of surprise and disbelief on his face. "She held out on you that long? Damn."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "What'd you expect? She's stubborn."

Rick clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed briefly before letting go. "Get some rest. We have a long drive in the morning." The man left to take his watch out on the porch, leaving Daryl in the living room. He stretched out on the sofa and kicked his feet up over the armrest and closed his eyes and ever so slowly he could feel himself sinking down into that frozen, dark oblivion where he saw a flash of bloody red hair and heard vicious, angry howls of rage, the feeling of heat and light ripped away from him, leaving him cold and so alone.

When he woke in the morning the light peeking through the boarded up windows was cold and grey, but when he stole out onto the porch to check the weather his heart gave a leap to see that there was no snow falling. Everything was covered in heavy drifts of the frozen powder and the sky was an iron-grey slab, but the worst of the weather seemed to have past.

"Alright, if we're gonna make this trip, we need to figure out the best way to do this. And that's where you come in." Rick's voice was firm and laced with authority as he called the group together in the living room around the prisoner who was still bound and gagged on the floor. Everyone was tense and filled with a certain measure of anger and urgency to get the hell on the move, but Daryl understood Rick's caution. They had to be careful. They were about to start running headlong into enemy territory, and judging by the force they'd martialed yesterday, there was only more of it waiting for them.

Rick crouched down to the kid and nodded to Daryl who removed his buck knife from his sheathe and dropped down to be at eye level with him. Rick was willing to give Daryl a more or less free hand to get the information they needed out of the kid, a dark haired and dark eyed version of Benjamin, and probably twice as nervous as their medic. Before Daryl had stuffed the rag down his throat he'd said his name was Randall.

Daryl reached around and pulled the rag out of the boy's mouth. He immediately sucked down a deep breath and let his head hang forward for a second before looking up at Rick and staring at him with wide, pitiful eyes.

"Please man, you gotta believe me, I didn't do nothing. Philip says come on so we go. They took me in when I was starving and being chased by biters, I didn't mean nothing…"

Daryl smacked him in the back of the head, cuffing him sharply. "Did I ask you something boy? You keep your mouth shut unless otherwise told, you got it?"

Randall let out a quiet whimper as Rick stood back up and paced in front of him. "What road did you come here by? Which interstates are passible?"

The kid balked, his feet squirming underneath him. "Come on man…if I tell you…if I bring you there, they'll kill me!"

Daryl fisted his hand into the kid's hair and yanked his head back hard, the serrated edge of his buck knife tracing his jugular vein. Randall whined pitifully, squirming against the hold Daryl had on him even as the hunter increased the pressure on his neck. "Wanna know what it feels like be bled dry?" he snarled.

"Come on man, please!" Randall squirmed hard, kicking and jerking but Daryl yanked his head back even harder and flicked the knife over his smooth jawline, creating a bright red line on the soft skin there, making Randall gasp with pain.  
"Start talking or it goes deeper." Daryl growled.

"You guys don't understand! You wouldn't ever be able to get inside the base! It's too heavily guarded, there's no way even all of you would be able to get through…ahhh!" The kid's words turned into a terrified cry when Daryl jerked his head back hard and dragged his blade right underneath his jaw, causing a deep line of red to appear and scarlet fluid to stream free like water spilling over a wall.

"What road did you come here by?" Daryl demanded.

"I70!" he cried. "I70 to 44! Please man, please don't kill me, I didn't do anything I swear! Those guys left me behind, I ain't like them, please!"

Daryl shoved him away in disgust and stood up, pacing in front of him, his jaw clenched. "The road's clear the whole way through?" he asked, kicking the kid's ankle when he didn't respond right away.

"Even if it was, how the hell do you plan on getting into the base? It's built down into a mountain! It's guarded at all times, even if you managed to get up into the mountain itself, the place is a maze! You'd be caught and killed before you got fifty feet inside!" He was gasping for his breath now and out of sheer irritation Daryl kicked him again.

"We'll be the judge of that. You're coming with us. Get up." Rick growled. He took the kid by the shoulders and hauled him up to his feet.

"Everybody get your stuff. Carl you're in the car with me. You keep him covered with your gun. He flinches, you shoot, don't aim for the head. We need him alive." Rick shot his eyes down to his son who already had his pistol in his hand and nodded firmly. The boy's eyes were hard and absolutely determined not to fail in his task. He really wasn't a kid anymore, and it was getting clearer and clearer by the second.

"Glenn, Maggie, Benjamin and Judith are in Maggie's car. Daryl you're on the bike. I'll lead with the Jeep. Eat on the move, let's go!" he barked. He took the kid by the shoulder and shoved him towards the door, his bound feet making it difficult for him to move but Rick didn't much care. Daryl helped to bring the baby's supplies back to Maggie's car, stroking her downy hair gently for a moment before they started piling in, Glenn at the wheel.

"Drive safe. The roads are slick from the ice. And for the love of God, Glenn, do not break and turn at the same time." Daryl warned. He'd seen the kid's driving, and it more than lived up to the stereotype.

Glenn rolled his eyes. "I know." He muttered, but there was still the trace of a slight understanding of the teasing. "You drive safe too. You don't have Fox behind you to keep you awake this time."

Daryl's shoulders tightened for a moment but he wasn't going to fault the kid for pointing out the truth. "Not for long." He said before turning away and walking towards his bike. He cleaned off the snow and cranked up the engine, grateful that they all had more or less full tanks of gas and he was dearly hoping that as they moved away from this frozen wasteland that they'd be able to drive at decent cruising speeds. As it was with the ice on the road and no sand or salt to give the tires traction, they had to go very slow, less than forty-five mph. The wind chill was brutal and it was only now Daryl realized how much Fox had kept him warm on those long, long drives earlier in the winter. His body ached to have her around him now and if he could have, he'd have opened the throttle as high as it would go to speed towards the Rockies. But as it was he restrained himself and followed the convoy at the pace Rick set. He'd hoped that by getting on the road it would soothe some of the pounding restlessness in his heart but if anything, it only made it worse. They clocked mile after mile beneath the wheels of their tires, only the wreckage of their surroundings changing, stiff Walkers stumbling along on the sides of the roads as they blew past. Every tug of the wind, every tilt of the bike, every pounding heart beat brought him one step closer to her. The wind screaming in his ear reminded him of her vicious cries as they'd taken her, but it recalled the fire she'd sparked in him on so many occasions.

_Give 'em hell sweetheart. I'm coming for you…_

* * *

When the door open Fox twisted her head on the table, still struggling against the straps that held her down. She shivered against her will in the cold but she'd be damned if she let it be known she was in pain.

The man who approached was different than the others. He had a long white coat over his shoulders a smoothed overhead of dirty blonde hair, golden stubble coating the sides of his cheeks and jaw. His face was well worn and haggard, like a piece of leather exposed to the sun and wind in the desert, and his dark green eyes were hollowed out, as though he'd replaced sleep for caffeine for weeks on end. But as he laid his eyes on her they seemed to brighten substantially.

"If you think for one bloody second I'm going to let you experiment on me like some fucking lab rat you got another thing coming!" Fox snarled as she continued twisting and pulling at the straps on the table. Her arms were stretched over her head, wrists affixed to straps at the upper corners of the table, the same with her legs on the bottom. She'd be a liar if she said she didn't feel horribly exposed, bereft of most of her clothes and the harsh white lights glaring down at her, but she wouldn't let it show. She couldn't. Her pride wouldn't let her.

"Calm down, nothing like that is going to happen to you. My name is Edwin Jenner, I'm one of the doctors here at the base. I just want to look you over and make sure you're ok before I release you to Philip's custody." Jenner had a little clipboard in his hands and a pen between his teeth as he looked her over and back at his paper, muttering softly to himself. Fox sucked in a deep breath, feeling unsteady, and squirmed a little on the table.

"Let me go. I'm of no value to you and I swear to God you're making a big mistake by holding me here." She growled. When Jenner completely ignored her in favor for looking at his clipboard she stilled on the table. "Come on, at least take these restraints off. I don't have anything I can hurt you with." She bargained.

That got his attention. He looked up from his board and narrowed his eyes at her, mouth turning hard, jaw twitching slightly. "Don't lie to me." He warned quietly. "I saw what you did to Philip's neck. You're plenty dangerous without a weapon."

She probably shouldn't have but she couldn't help it. "What would you have done if you were afraid for your life and not been in a position to hold a gun to someone's head at a ten foot distance away from you?" Her delivery was spat scathingly as he got closer to the table.

"Maybe been a little more cooperative and then they wouldn't have had to be so rough with you." Jenner said. He sounded almost absentminded, as if there was something else weighing heavily on his mind that was distracting him. Fox's eyes narrowed as she watched him pace through the room, slowly gathering little instruments and setting them on the counter closest to the table.

"What the hell do you people fucking want from me?" she howled as Jenner refused to take the restrains off her. She bucked up on the table as much as the straps would allow but then she heard the snap of latex gloves on Jenner's hands and she stilled.

"This doesn't have to hurt, alright? I wanna check these…what the hell caused this?" he was gingerly beginning to touch the wounds on her shoulder. She bucked against the touch, trying to get away from his grip but he tightened his fingers on her and shoved her down. She thrashed, hissing like a pissed off rattlesnake and tried to bite him. He let one hand go of her shoulder and twisted it into her hair, pulling her head back hard enough to force her neck into arching.

"Get one thing straight. _We_ are in charge here! Not you! And no amount of kicking and screaming is _ever _going to change that! You can either cooperate and save all of us a lot of trouble, or you can fight us every inch of the way and pay dearly for it!" He tugged on her hair hard, forcing her head to bang on the table. His other hand let go of her shoulder and reached in his little pile of tools and withdrew a scalpel. The silver blade gleamed with white flames in the harsh lights, glaring so hard it made her wince a bit as he waved it slowly in front of her eyes. He drew the flat part of the blade against her skin of her cheek, down to her lips and over her chin were he lightly turned the blade. She shivered unconsciously as he very gently traced the edged side against her throat. It was a clear demonstration of power and what he was capable of. She shuddered in his grip, her eyes screwing up in pain and rage at her helplessness.

"Do we understand each other?" Jenner asked softly, still lightly dragging the scalpel across her throat, not hard enough to draw blood, but it was a whispered promise.

"Yes." She panted.

He let go of her hair and withdrew the scalpel. She did not give him the satisfaction of a long exhale but she did relax on the table.

"Now where were we?" Jenner asked, returning his attention to his clipboard for a moment, and then as if he remembered, began to inspect the wounds in her shoulder. "What caused this?" he asked as he turned her as much as he could on the table, getting a full picture of the wounds.

"Wolf bites." She muttered. She sucked in a hissing breath when he dug a little metal scraper into one of the cuts and pulled away a bit of flesh as he retracted it. "The fuck did you do that for?"

"You provide quite a unique opportunity for me, Fox." He said as he tapped the little bit of flesh into a jar and screwed on the lid, setting it aside. "You're the newest person to make it inside our base, and you've been living in ways very different from everyone else here. My main priority is finding a cure for the plague, and you may be helpful in doing this."

Her eyes narrowed. "You worked for them, didn't you? The CDC." She tried to meet his eyes and for a moment he allowed the contact, but only for a second until he looked away, writing something on his clipboard.

"Yes, I worked for them. I was present in Atlanta at the start of the outbreak. Myself and a few other doctors were evacuated before what remains of law and order blockaded the city."

Fox's brain spun. She remembered the intense chaos of the city the night she and her friends had forced their way through the blockades to get back into Atlanta. She could imagine people running around the CDC tearing this way and that trying to get their supplies before bailing out in whatever transport they could get, people screaming and maybe dying all around them. She could see how what Rick had taken could have gotten left behind, especially if there were military personnel there forcing people to evacuate, not understanding what might have been left behind. Now it made a little more sense.

"What was it that was taken from Atlanta? What's Philip searching for?" Fox asked, ignoring the pain when the doctor began to inspect her various other injuries, including the stitched cut on her upper arm from Merle's knife when he'd pounced on her in the valley, as well as the other bites. When she spoke he looked up at her and his eyes grew hard again, hard like frosted glass. It made her nervous but she didn't let it show.

"If he wanted you to know, he would have told you." He growled. She judged his tone carefully and realized that whoever this man was, he couldn't be toyed with like Philip. There was something off about him. Something…unstable. And as helpless as she was in this moment, it wasn't worth possibly risking her life to antagonize him.

"These have been well cared for. Do you have a doctor in your group?" he asked as he finished inspecting the bites.

"Med student. Fourth year." She said. In her mind she had a flash of Benjy's terrified expression and wondered if he and Judith had made it out ok…and if they'd made it back to the group. That had been part of the reason why she'd run towards the dangerous. She knew her group would have eventually been shot to bits if she didn't give them what they wanted, and she'd put it together quickly enough. Shane was the only member of the group to have contact with any part of the outside world, and he was the only one who could have seen her shared secret with Rick. He must have told them who to target. She'd made the hard call, the sacrifice, in order to protect the ones she loved. If she'd had her way, she'd of shot them all to pieces, but after seeing Andrea fall and Benjamin flee with Judith, and the rest of the group cowering behind the porch railing, trying to keep their enemy back, there was only one thing she could do. That she had to do, before they were all killed. She remembered the biting kiss she'd had with Daryl on the porch just before she'd charged out into the line of fire and just the memory alone sent a shockwave through her, but she kept it hidden. She was only brought back to reality when she heard the doctor's voice above her.

"Ah. You're lucky to have the benefit of his knowledge. So many of ours came to us on death's door for simple wounds that became so infected the limbs almost had to be amputated."

She shifted on the table, wishing she didn't have to feel his hands turning her limbs this way and that to inspect her, like a piece of steak being chosen for the grill. When he turned her head and saw faint marks on her neck and shoulder his eyes narrowed.

"Were you bitten?" he demanded, looking down at her with demanding eyes.

"Not by a Walker." She muttered, jerking her chin out of his grip. He replaced it quickly though and held her head over to the side to continue his inspection. Some of the marks were older and less pronounced than others.

"But these are human bites. I can tell by the shape and imprint of the wounds." Jenner countered, letting her go on his own volition this time.

"If a Walker bit me, do you think they'd of healed? They're from something else." She turned her head away and closed her eyes and recalled when she'd gotten those bites. The feeling of Daryl's teeth sinking down into her skin so hard it drew more than just a little blood as his fingers clenched down onto her hips or sometimes entwined with her hands, holding her arms out next to her head as he bore down on her as the pleasure between them threatened to consume them like fire on gunpowder. He tried not to be so rough most times, but she usually encouraged him. It was sweet, sweet pain and it only amplified the euphoria coursing through her as she met her end with him, toes curling as her body writhed underneath him. She could still feel the slamming of his heartbeat against his chest as he collapsed against her, the shaking in his breath against her ear. She held onto that for as long as she could until Jenner's voice jolted her back to reality.

"I'm going to take several samples of your blood and run it through our tests to see if you're infected. The fact that you've been subjected to a human bite from another carrier could affect your blood chemistry. I'm curious to know if it has, and in what way." He said calmly. She narrowed her eyes and watched him as he hooked up the needle and tubing and had several large vials at the ready.

"If I was infected I'd have a fever. Or be incessantly trying to rip your throat out with my teeth." She muttered.

"Just standard procedure. You're certainly an abnormality, Fox. You could be quite useful in my research." He told her.

"Do what you gotta do." Her voice was cold and indifferent. But she was watching every move when slid the needle into her skin and pricked her vein. Almost immediately blood began flowing into the little vials which he quickly filled one after the other until he had four of them drawn up. After the last one was full he removed the needle and applied steady pressure and a little bit of gauze and tape to stop the bleeding.

He looked at her carefully, his eyes roving her up and down, and once again she began to have the feeling of being exposed. He paced towards the door again and approached the far counter on which she recognized her clothes and her shoes were piled. She looked over as much as she could, longing for them.

"Now, I didn't hurt you. So you shouldn't hurt me if I give these back to you." He told her as he gestured to her clothes and the straps holding her to the table.

"Bullshit! You held a scalpel at my throat." She tugged on the straps, pulling in vein to try and free herself from them. She was past the point of trying to trick and manipulate. The level of her panic was beginning to rise. She instinctively knew that Philip, and probably Merle, would be coming back for her, and her incessant need to escape, or at least be able to defend herself was rising, filling her with restless, high strung energy.

Jenner actually sighed and his shoulders seemed to bow forward, as though he were exhausted and this was just one more thing added to the weight he was carrying. Fox might have felt sorry for him if he wasn't part of the group holding her hostage.

"We do what we must to survive, Fox. And so it is with some regret that I give Philip a free reign to do as he sees fit to ensure that goal. But out of all the men in this base, he's the only one with enough skill to get the job done. Merle is just a henchman, nothing more. And I…I'm holed up in my lab. Working on a cure for a population that barely exists anymore. It is enough to drive one mad." He looked at her again and what she saw made her stomach clench with fear. Though his tone was fatigued and his face was haggard, there was an edge in his voice, and a mad, mad light in his eyes. A spark of insanity deep in the back of his pupils, like the gleam of harsh lights on the edge of the scalpel, and somewhere in his voice the trace of hysterical energy that said he'd spatter her blood all over the wall if she pushed just the right button. She'd met a lot of people in her life, not all of them friendly or sane, but he had to cap out at the top. She unwillingly shivered on the table and desperately wished she wasn't so exposed. He tucked his little samples and vials of her blood into the pocket of his lab coat and looked at her again.

"I could let you go. And when I do, you will try and kill Philip when he returns. Be frank with me, I don't have time for lies." He said to her.

"Yes. I will." She answered him softly. She felt like she might be speaking with the devil but what else did she have left to lose?

He tilted his head, not really looking at her, instead staring off into a space above her that only he seemed to be able to see. "I wonder if it wouldn't be better if you did. Then perhaps some of this madness would end. I could waste away inside my lab and the rest could take their chances on the road. Or stay until the supplies are gone and the biters come for all of us. They will. They always will. They will come, they will destroy, and there will be nothing left." He looked down at her again and twisted his mouth into a sick smile. "Perhaps it is better that way."

"At least give us the chance to fight it out. So we die with some kind of dignity." She said. She could play along with his crazy, she'd do anything she had to if it meant she'd make it out of this place alive.

"And yet we cling to the vestige of the old. We cannot let go. We can't."

He turned and left the room, closing it with a sharp snap, locking her in. She bucked fiercely on the table, howling with misery and defeat, thrashing with anger and unrepressed ferocity. She stared up into the light above her head, cursing him and the world and everyone who had ever hurt her or forced her to do something against her will. She was in the middle of being glad that probably the vast majority of them were now Walkers at this point when the door opened again. She twisted her head and saw Philip standing there. He swept into the room and shut the door again behind him. He locked it and turned to where she lay on the table.

"What did the doctor say?" he asked. His tone was soft, almost as if he was concerned.

"Not a lot that made sense." She admitted. "He's insane, isn't he?"

Philip undid the button of his long sleeve shirt, rolling up the sleeves and loosening the one around his neck, pulling on the fabric a little. Nervousness grew in Fox's belly and she tried not to let her mind tear free of her hands which were trying to hold it back from imagining all the things that could happen to her.

"Yes, yes he is." Philip answered. "He's overworked himself, but he cannot let it go. Before he meets his end at the barrel of a gun between his teeth he will exhaust every last resource for a cure."

"And what about you? What do you want?" Fox demanded coldly. She twisted in her restraints but when Philip came to stand at the head of the table so she could no longer see him she stilled.

"What I want is not that complicated. All I want is for you to help me. You could have made it so easy but now…now we must do things the hard way." He reached his hands down and let his large palms cup her shoulders. She stiffened under the touch, his hands calloused and warm but so different from Daryl's. She shivered in revulsion.

"The hard way huh? What's that? Where you humiliate me until I crack? It won't work. I have nothing to say to you that will help you."

"You know where Rick and the others are. You know how much Rick knows. I know that you do, you're too clever not to, Fox. You damned yourself the moment you played my game. It's all a game. It's always been a game. And I always win." He hissed in her ear. His teeth nibbled on the outer shell of her ear and she bucked, trying to clock him with her skull but he just chuckled and pulled away, coming up to the other end of the table. His hands slid down her muscled calves, rubbing back and forth, each time moving further up her thighs. She twisted in revulsion but there was only so much she could do.

"No fear?" Philip asked, looking up the length of her body and catching her eye as she arched up as much as she could so she could stare down at him. She'd never hated anyone more in that one moment as she did then.

"No. Why should I be afraid? You wanna rape me, go right ahead. I've said plenty of sex before, and if you wanna force yourself into me, it'll hurt, but its just pain. It goes away. It doesn't frighten me. You'll never frighten me." She swallowed thickly and let her head sink back onto the table. She squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled and pictured Daryl's eyes and his rough voice in her ear and the heat of him against her and was briefly comforted.

"Get up." Philip growled, suddenly undoing the straps on her ankles and her wrists. As soon as she was loose he stepped back towards the door and she sat up on the table, swinging her legs over the edge and standing on her feet. She faced him with hard, hard eyes, fire burning through her.

"You wanna fight. You don't want someone helpless, cause there's no fun in that. Well I'm here to tell you, you can fight with me, maybe even overpower me, but you still will never frighten me. Ever." She snarled.

He lunged at her and she tried her best to strike him in the face but he ducked out of the way, grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm up behind her back, spinning her and pinning her back against the table. His free hand went into the nape of her neck, shoving her down and holding her under him as his hips pushed against her, molding his body over hers as he leaned down against her. She hissed and snarled and struggled, but it wasn't even so much against him, it was against the threat of her fear rising. She was afraid, but she refused under any circumstances to let it show. Fear, and who could draw it from her, was power, and she wouldn't give it to him.

"You are quite the brave little girl, Fox. In another life you and I could have made a good team." He hissed into her ear.

"And you're just a rat!" she spat back, struggling underneath him. "You're a rat and didn't you know that foxes eat rats?"

He smacked her head into the table and her head spun at the impact. Philip let her go and she slid to the icy cold floor of the room. She crawled at his feet, stumbling a little as she gained her feet. Philip merely watched as she pulled herself up via the counter and grabbed her jeans, putting them back on, never in her life having been so grateful for the fabric. She expected Philip to try and stop her, but even when she was fully dressed and was tugging on her boots he just stood and watched. She laced them up tight and then stood to face him.

"There is only one way this is going to end, Fox." Philip said, looking at her with a deep seated anger, and maybe even something akin to desire in his eyes. The two were mixed, seething and roiling in strange but equal ways. As though she were a challenge that he desperately wanted to conquer.

"I know." She smirked her best shit eating grin, just to piss him off. "We're all gonna die eventually. But justice will start with you."

He shook his head. "There is no justice anymore." He unsheathed his gun that was strapped to his leg and leveled it at her. The door opened again and this time Merle appeared with two other men at his back. Fox turned to him slightly, brazenly giving Philip her back.

"Come to dig a deeper grave?" she asked, snickering a little as she did so. It was her last line of defense.

"Shut your mouth." Merle snarled. He lunged forward and grabbed her by the hair and jerked a black bag over her head while the other two men pulled her by the arms and began to haul her away, forcibly pushing and dragging her deeper into hell.

She felt a chill coming back into her bones as they descended down several more flights of stairs and she recognized the smell of the room that they had first brought her in. Except for now they took her further into its depths and shoved her up against a wall. She heard the clicking of handcuffs and one by one her hands were cuffed, stretched up over her head, her spine having to flex and her toes barely scraping the ground as she was strung up to some kind of attachment from the ceiling. The bag was jerked back off her head and she immediately thrashed, trying to kick the men near her but they all darted away and she hissed a breath of pain. The metal rubbed her wrist fiercely and she knew that it wouldn't take days for them to start to bleed like it was before when she'd first been held prisoner at the camp by the quarry. She stopped struggling and panted for her breath as she stared directly at Merle and Philip, the other two guards exiting the room and closing with a sharp snap.

"Now, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, it's entirely up to you, Fox." Philip said as he paced slowly back and forth in front of her, Merle hovering near her side, his eyes roving over her again and again making her skin crawl in all sorts of uncomfortable ways.

"Oh I haven't heard that line before. I don't care what it is you want, you can go to hell you piece of shit!" she snarled. She was done playing games. If they wanted to hurt her, so be it. Pain was temporary; pain was a state of mind. Before she knew what had hit her, Merle had driven his prosthetic contraption straight into her stomach, causing her to double over and cough hard, swinging on the handcuffs making her wrists ache something fierce. She could tell by the sharp burning sensation in her skin that they were cutting into her already. She struggled to suck down another breath as her entire body shuddered, pain beginning to bloom in her belly and spread outwards from the strike.

"Let it be known very clearly that it makes no difference to me that you're a woman. I'll flay you within an inch of your life and fix you up to just to rip the stitches out one by one before they've healed." Philip said casually, still pacing loosely in front of her as though he were trying to decide what kind of coffee to get at Starbucks.

"You are an asshole of epic proportions you know that? And you're even worse." She spat the last part at Merle. "You know where I stand with Daryl, what do you think he's gonna do when he finds out about everything here? You think he's really just gonna forget everything that's happened since you up and ran off almost a year ago? He's changed Merle, you're making a big mistake by not stopping this…" Her words were cut off by a husky cry of pain when Merle swung his metal arm at her and this time struck her in the small of her back. Pain rocketed up through her back and jarred her wrists again as she swung almost like a pendulum.

"My loyalty is to here. Daryl made his bed, and he'll lie in it." Merle hissed. "With you at its foot, tied up and left for dead as it were."

Fox glared at him, sweat beginning to drip down her skin. She chose not to speak, but all her rage and anger and disgust was clearly written on her face, so much so that she almost forgot that Philip was standing there. Until he stalked towards her and grabbed her by the bangs and turned her head to face his.

"You are quite the know it all little brat. You think you know anything about what goes on here? About what we're capable of? About the trap your lover and his pals are walking into? I will blow them sky high just to watch their blood rain down like its Armageddon before I let them so much as get fifty feet inside this base. The only way you or anybody you care about is going to get out of this alive is if you tell us what we want to know."

When she remained silent he jerked her head back again, her pale throat exposed and glinting with sweat in the dim light from the bulb that was hovering several feet behind Philip's head. Fox struggled to breathe, her windpipe restricted because of the angle he had on her but she refused to let it show on her face.

"Go to hell." She spat. She lunged and tried to bite him on the wrist but her teeth clicked only empty air and then an awful pain slammed her in the right side of her face as Merle's metal arm connected with her at high speeds. Blood began gushing from nose, spattering onto the floor beneath her shoes as her head hung between her arms. Already her shoulders and wrists ached and now throbs of insistent pain rippled through her face and skull.

"Where is your group? What does Rick know of what he took from us?" Philip demanded.

The pain was bad. Worse than she could remember feeling for a very long time. She'd taken blows to the face before, rough scraps in dark alleys outside shady bars as she pushed off men trying to take advantage of her mother's inebriated state. She'd come out the winner as soon as she'd pulled a knife out and flung it at them, scaring them away, but now she was strung up like a deer for butchering, and she had nothing to fight back with. It hurt to breathe either through her nose or mouth, and her skull was experiencing sharp, unrelenting pounds of pain like a hammer beating on her head repeatedly. It took her a minute to gather her strength again. She thought of Daryl and his blue eyes and unrelenting stubbornness and how he would never back down from a fight. How he had come to her rescue when Shane had pinned her to the porch on the plantation oh so many nights ago when the air was still suffocating hot and thick with moisture from a gathering storm.

_If ever I needed you it'd be now Daryl. We'll tear 'em all to pieces together and then we'll burn this place to the ground. _

She picked her head up from between her arms and stared Philip in the face. She was welcoming the pain, opening herself up to, knowing that fighting it would only make it ten times worse. She did not brace for it. She asked for it, and certainly was well received. She took a deep breath in and cooled the expression on her face, morphing into a shit eating grin and her infuriating 'you can't get under my skin' attitude. She let it flow over her like warm water after a cold day outside and in some ways focusing on that helped to soothe some of the pain she was already in. So when she spoke it was with strength, clarity, and an unimaginably loud message of _fuck off. _

"You think a couple blows to the face is gonna make me talk? You think I care about anything you do to me? I got news for you morons. There is _nothing _you can do, nothing you can say, nothing you can scare me with to make me give up the ones I love. So suck my dick you slavering inbred asshole." She spat at his feet, the bloody spittle striking Philip's boots.

Philip stared at her for a long time, his eyes morphing from mild urgency to something akin to rage. He swung his arm and back handed her on her bad side and then stepped back, his chest heaving with anger and nodded to Merle.

"Go until I stay stop." He growled.

And Merle did. Repeated blows struck Fox everywhere, her back, hips, shoulders, belly, chest, face, and neck. She howled with pain, crying out and flinching, trying her best to kick and guard the blows but the position of her arms and the ever-increasing pain in her wrists prevented her from doing so. Tears began leaking from her eyes and her breath spiraled into cries of high-pitched agony as they just kept coming, hard metal and sharp knuckles driving into her again and again. Fox's eyes screwed up against the pain and she mentally set a mantra of memories and words, most of them including Daryl. She held on as tightly as she could to all of those snatches of different days, gasping and curling against the pain still struggling to breathe, holding on for dear life, wondering if maybe they would beat her to death and she would never see him again. She felt at her breaking point, at the point where she would scream and never stop when finally Philip's voice cut through the relentless blows. Merle halted and stepped back, chest heaving for breath, sweat beginning to drip down his skin.

"How about now? Just give us what we want and all of this will stop. You're a smart girl, don't make this so difficult. You know better." Philip urged. "Otherwise we'll just keep going, again and again and again until you crack. There's a lot of us and only one of you, Fox. If I were you, I'd give in now before you're really risking life and limb."

It was hard to breathe; her lungs ached as though she'd been hit by a truck. She hated the way her breath shifted into a whine each time she inhaled but she didn't stop until she'd gathered her strength again.

_It's just pain. It ain't life or death. You can hack it. Go on. _

"Blow me." She growled.

The cell filled with the sound of her howls of suffering as Merle let at her again. Over and over and over the blows came down, raining like meteorites striking the surface of the earth. This time when he let up she was spitting blood, more of it gushing down her face and now also dripping down her arms. One, maybe two of her ribs were cracked, she'd heard the snapping sound in between the huff of air being shoved from her lungs with each blow.

"You'll die here and we'll feed your body to the biters! And there'll be nothing left for any of your group to bury, and when they come for your bones, they'll meet the same fate! Now where are they?" Philip hissed in her face, her head hanging down between her arms as she struggled to clear her mouth of blood so she could breathe. More blood was dripping into her eye from a gash that Merle's metal arm had cut open on her forehead. Her body was shaking badly as she struggled for each and every breath. She wasn't going to let go, but she was literally being beaten to the edge.

_Daryl I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I'd rather die than give you up. Never. You'd do it for me, wouldn't you? You said you would. Remember? You said you'd take me and the bike and we'd go. We'd go anywhere we wanted and leave the rest of the whole fucking world behind. Sometimes that's all I ever wanted. I don't regret anything. No fight, no sharp word, no harsh look. We took grains of sand and we built a castle of stone. Heat and pressure and pain and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of. You brought the best out of me when I thought all I had left was blood and pain. And now I'll die for you and don't you dare blame yourself. I chose it. I always have. My guiding light at night, I love you so. _

She found the will rather than the strength to pick her head up again. "You will never break me. I have something far more important to protect, and no amount of pain will ever change that."

Merle moved to strike her but now Philip snagged his wrist and pulled him back. He let go momentarily and Philip tilted his head at her. "We'll see about that." He growled before spinning on his heel and marching out, Merle in tow, leaving her to hang. Her body felt ripped apart, turned inside out and beaten with a sledgehammer before being put through a meat grinder. But she sucked in her breath, thankful she was still alive. She wasn't afraid to die. Whatever might have been waiting for her at the end, she would face it when it came. But damn was she glad that she had another chance to see Daryl again. She had to much pride to admit it to anybody's face, even his, but all she wanted was to feel him hold her, to let his arms wrap around her and let him fight off the rest of the world. She knew he would.

"And maybe when I get out of this I'll drop my pride and admit I can't do it all by myself. That sometimes I like it when you take charge so I don't have to worry. That just this one time I need you to take point cause, babe, I'm about shot." She almost laughed with hysterical nervousness and pain except it hurt to much to draw the short, fast breaths. She looked up at her wrists and saw the blood streaming down and inwardly winced. "Babe I hope you come soon. And don't take two days to let me down this time, alright? Gotta speed things along this time."

* * *

"That is one tough little bitch. I've seen men twice her size crack over a lot less. God damn it." Merle panted as he leaned up against the wall outside the cell as Philip pushed against the opposite one, his head bowed forward.

"Try and appreciate the gravity of the situation, Merle!" Philip snapped, shooting the one-handed man daggers through his eyes. "If Rick knows what he has on hand, he'll know its value, and he'll know how vulnerable it is. If we lose it, it's gone! It's gone and we will never have another chance at a cure for the plague. And I wouldn't put it past him to destroy it out of pure spite!" He slammed his palm into the wall. "Not to mention that psycho doctor upstairs. I swear to God if there was _anybody _else capable of working on a cure I'd put a bullet in his brain myself!"

Merle shrugged his shoulders. "So why can't he be the one to get it out of her?"

Philip stared at him with a cross of malice and disbelief in his eyes. "Don't tell me you're going soft now, cause I just can't handle that now. I really, really can't."

Merle shifted against the wall. "I'm just thinking. If Daryl does make it down here, and he brings his group with him, it won't go well for them. I don't wanna see my little brother get gunned down cause he made a stupid mistake for a piece of ass."

Philip's eyes narrowed at him. "The way you talk it's like he doesn't care, and the way she talks its like he's God. What the fuck is it?"

Merle shrugged. "Don't really know. I haven't seen him for almost a year. He's been alone with those people for a long time. He might not be the same man he was before. But it don't matter. Soon as I find him, he'll remember who he is." When the distrust in Philip's eyes didn't relent he pressed on. "I won't let him sabotage this. I know my brother, I know how he thinks. Even if he somehow manages to get in here, I'll make sure he doesn't find her. He won't compromise me, or the operation. I'll make sure of it."

Philip shifted against the wall, standing up straight again. "I hope that's true. Cause I'd hate to gun down an able bodied man."

He turned to walk away but Merle called after him. He turned back and Merle tilted his head towards the cell door behind which Fox was strung up.

"What do we do with her? We keep going at her like this much longer and she'll die. And I'm assuming we don't want that, considering you want information out of her. Or a bargaining chip as it were if my brother and Rick come in here guns blazing."

Philip tilted his head, running his hand through his hair, pulling his palm over his face, literally smoothing out his expression before he answered. "No food, no water, no sleep. Keep her strung up in there for a few hours and then you and me will work at her again. She'll crack eventually, it's only a matter of time."

He walked away and Merle remained where he was. His hand was stinging from how many times he'd struck her, and the shoulder of his disabled arm was hurting from the repeated blows. He'd gone at her like he used to go at the heavy bag in the gym.

"You got yourself one tough bitch baby brother. How'd you manage to tap that?" he muttered to himself. "Ain't gonna matter much longer. And even if you do show up, you're just gonna have to understand. She ain't good for you. No woman ever is."

* * *

The soft whirr of the machines had long since become comforting to Jenner. Alone down in his lab he enjoyed the soft purr of the computers and other devices that let him explore into the depths of his work. It was truly the only thing that really gave him any sense of peace anymore.

He had finished running Fox's blood work not long ago and now the printer was spitting out the results. He was curious to see if there would be any change to her level of infection after having been exposed to repeated bites from a level one contaminant, a human who wasn't actively being taken over by the parasite. He'd also done a myriad of other tests, standard procedure that he did purely out of habit from his many years as an actual doctor and not researcher hunched over secret government lab created bugs. He scanned the results on the paper and was surprised to find that her level of infection was just a little bit lower than most of the other level one contaminants.

"What the fuck does that mean? How can that be possible! If anything it should still be the same or have increased after having been bitten by other level one contaminants."

"So at level one its not transferred orally." He murmured to himself. His recorder was on and he'd been mumbling into it on and off while he'd sat and waited for the results on the blood work. He let the piece of paper hit the desk and his head dropped into his hands.

"Come on Jenner think. What is it? What else could it be? There's got to be something. If only I had that God damn original sample I could have a basis with which to work, at least something tangible to observe! It's impossible to see these things work independently once they've infected someone. I've said it before, I will say it again, this is like nothing I have ever seen before, not in all my years here." His fingers tightened in his hair and when he looked up again he was sorely disappointed not to see a bottle of wine. He'd have to send for another. He sighed and leaned back into his chair and scanned over the rest of the paper. Nothing else was really out of the ordinary, until he caught one little red flag. He read it again, and then again to be sure. He tossed the paper back onto the desk and leaned back in his chair and stared up into the blinding fluorescent lights.

"You've got to be kidding me." He whispered. "Is that the variable though? Could that be it?"

But the levels were so low. So terribly low, this had to have happened recently, within the last week, maybe not even that long. The machines had probably only picked up on it because these were super charged readers, designed to look for the smallest hormonal or enzyme change in a person's blood.

He grabbed up the paper and studied it more closely, suddenly absorbed. He tore around the room snatching books off shelves, digging through dusty files both paper and electronic, looking for anything that might confirm his suspicion. If it was true…if it was possible…his heart raced at the thought.

"Don't fucking get ahead of yourself Jenner." He chastised himself, but he still couldn't resist the giddy rush coursing through him. This was the closest he'd been to some kind of an answer since this had all started. After digging for hours in his books and finding hit or miss confirmation, enough to warrant a much deeper look, he ran from his lab back downstairs to the cells, taking the key off the guard standing at the end of the hall without much of an explanation.

He thrust it into the cell door and cracked it open. The light bulb was still on and Fox was hanging at the back of the room, her wrists and arms and face soaked in blood. She had her hands curled around the chain of the cuffs to try and relieve the smallest amount of the pressure on her but it was only going so far. When she heard the door open her head whipped forward and she stared at him, her face a mask of blood.

"What the hell do you want?" she managed to growl.

For a moment he was a bit appalled at the condition she was in. Philip and his henchman Merle had really had at her hard but there was still a fight in her green eyes. A powerful resistance. She actually bared her teeth at him as he approached.

"Hey, I'm not here to hurt you. I wanted to tell you that your blood work came back." He started. "Why couldn't you have made it easy on yourself? None of this would have had to happen." He murmured softly, stepping close enough to brush a bit of bloody matted hair out of her face, staining his fingers in scarlet fluid.

"I ain't here for the easy way out." She hissed. She sucked down another pained breath. "Find anything interesting in my blood work? You must have, or you wouldn't have come down here." She continued.

Jenner nodded. "As a matter of fact I did, and maybe it'll help you see reason and to stop this nonsense. Every person that I've come across is a carrier of the plague. We all have a certain amount of it living in us at any given time. It's why we're brought back even if we're not bit. But, your levels are lower. Not by very much, not enough to prevent the change if you were to die…but enough to make a noticeable difference. Now, I find this doubly strange because you've received multiple bites from a level one contaminant as well, which you'd think would increase the concentration of the infection, but not so with you." He shifted back and forth in front of her, watching the curiosity in her eyes become sharper.

"Got any theories as to why?" she asked, trying to speak as though she didn't give a shit, but Jenner could see right through it.

"As a matter of fact I do."

And what he told her made her lose her breath. She struggled to get her head around it, to even comprehend the words coming out of his mouth. It wasn't possible…it couldn't have been…but then as she wracked her brains she realized it was possible…it could have happened. She couldn't speak, couldn't think, could only hang there and struggle to understand what he'd just told her.

"So now that you know…maybe you'll stop. Maybe you'll think about that." He told her quietly. He retreated from the cell and left her to hang and now she lost control. Hot burning tears slipped down her cheeks like stinging waterfalls, and over and over she moaned Daryl's name, her body crying out in not just physical pain but a deep emotional ache that she had no idea how to even begin to come to grips with. The fear was so intense it was almost enough to break her right then. But as the minutes passed with only the sound of her pained sobs and the water dripping down the back wall of the cell, she began to calm herself. Slowly the tears that thinned the blood on her face began to ease up. A realization took her over and she stared up at the ceiling rather than at her bloody boots and her fingers tightened again on the chain.

"Fuck that. I didn't come all this way, I didn't feel all of this…didn't learn all of this…just to die here. You think you can break me, you assholes have a whole other fucking thing coming." She growled. Her resolved tightened and ever so slowly, the pain began to ebb. Until Philip and Merle returned some hours later.

"Ready for round two?" Philip asked, a very cold, very sadistic light in his eyes.

"Bring it bitch." She snarled.


	42. Chapter 42

**_Ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, hang on tight. We are on a crash course for the end. You all have been incredible, I hope my work stays worthy of all of the praise and adoration from all of you. And now, without further ado, onwards!_**

**FanFicGirl10**: _Ok so much to say but i can't find the right words! I just knew the doctor was going to be Jenner, that asshole needs to die like soon. Damn Fox is one tough woman, if i was her i have a feeling i would have spliied all the details by now, i know i'm weak but whatever. Ugh Daryl better not chose Merle over Fox and the group i seriously would never forgive him no matte how much he apologizes, even if he begs! Damn "Phillip" and Merle, a true man would never hurt a woman that's why Rick, Daryl, and Glenn are the best. I seriously doubt Fox will ever break but i she does i will NOT ever blame her, one can only take so much pain. Uh oh Fox is in trouble again, please let the group get there soon! Cliffhanger, Update Soon!_

I was fascinated by Jenner's character in the brief 2 episodes he played in the show and I knew I wanted to bring him in, but in mine he is most definitely the bad guy. As to what fate befalls him, well, you shall just have to wait and see ;) Fox is a tough little bitch, but part of that lies in her mental strategy of how to deal with this. What's more important to her is that Philip is kept in the dark so Daryl, Rick, and the group have the best chance to spring her loose without getting hurt, and so she's holding out on telling for as long as she can, but you're right, there is only so much one body can take. As far as the impending meeting between Daryl and Merle…Daryl's main priority is getting Fox out. If he can do that and somehow patch it up with his brother, he will, but he doesn't know about Merle's involvement in hurting Fox. If/when he finds out, it will change things for certain. In what ways, well, you shall just have to read and find out ;)

**arrowsandkittens**: _This was so intense, I think it was the best chapter so far! I have two theories right now, I can't wait for the next chapter! Damn, I'm more excited for this than for the show! Just imagine how perfectly this would fit the show, God. I can't even explain how brilliant this story is, it's the best Daryl/OC I've ever read. _

Awww really? OMG! WOW. Ok, totally just made my day. I adore reviews like this so much, you have no idea. My Muse is doing a major happy dance right now lol. I did take some cues from when Maggie and Glenn were taken hostage as to how to sculpt this part of the story but I also spun it to my own devices as well, so I'm glad that it strikes a really good balance. We are crashing towards the end my friend, hang on tight!

**KatieDesignerShades**: _OMG! I should have known that you would have skipped the part where Jenner was telling her that something about her blood sample was different from everyone else's! AHHHHH That was a major cliffhanger! It was so good though! :) When you revealed the crazy doctor to be Jenner I did a major fist pump and yelled "I SO CALLED IT!" And my dogs looked at me funny. :P But it was worth it! Dayumm Fox is one tough bitch. I love it! :D As much as I'd like to say that I would never crack even if I was getting the snot beaten out of me I highly doubt that I would be able to go through what Fox is going through now and not break. Even though they would probably just kill me and my friends when they eventually arrived. :) I absolutely love the fact that everyone in the group is hellbent on getting her back knowing all the risks involved. At the end when Merle is just like "She ain't good for you. No woman ever is." I was like :O Is that jealousy that I hear? :P I'm totally kidding... , no but seriously. As to the person who referred me to your story it was Kaleiburzz. She basically forced me to read it and then I fell in love with it! But now that I'm caught up I have to wait for updates! Ugh it's agony! :P But it's totally and completely worth it! Thank you so much for writing this! :D_

Of course I skipped it! I must draw as much suspense from all of you wonderful readers and reviewers as possible! You'll know the answer before the end of the story though so don't worry, I shan't leave you hanging forever. Hah, you called Jenner eh? Nice job! At first it was a toss up for me on who the doctor should be, Jenner or Milton actually, but in the end I went with Jenner cause that dude really is effing crazy; loved his break down at the end of Season 2. Mm, most people probably would break at this point with everything Fox is being subjected too, (pretty sure I would too) but to quote one of my fav movies "Pain is in the mind." And so she's holding out for as long as she can. Mmhm, the group is indeed hellbent to retrieve her, its a show of their loyalty not just to her, but to the group as a whole that if something happens, every effort will be made to save the life of one of their own. That kind of loyalty is one of the only things they have left to fight for, and so it wasn't a question whether they would go for her or not. And it is most definitely jealousy that you hear ringing loud and clear from Merle. Jealousy and fear. For his whole life, Daryl's belonged to him and he can do with him as he pleases. Make no pretenses, Merle know's he's an asshole and that besides Daryl he's got nobody who cares about him. He's terrified to lose that, and so he'll do everything he can to make sure that Daryl belongs to him and only him. Ahh, Kaleiburzz ah? I shall have to make a note of that. *bows* Of course my friend, I write not just for myself, but for my wonderful readers too, for without you, these stories would just be dusty files on my computer. You guys give them meaning.

**Emberka-2012**:_ I hope the group very soon start a rescue Fox. Daryl has already made his choice between his love and his brother. Merle lost Daryl after he beat Fox. He really thought that Daryl will be on his side? I have a theory about what Jenner said Fox, but I do not know I'm right or not._

They will, the group is coming for her, the show down hits this chapter, and I am sooooo looking forward to bringing it to you guys. I hope it measures up to all of the hype! Daryl did indeed make his choice, although he doesn't know how concrete it is right at this second, because he doesn't know about Merle's involvement in beating Fox. It will be a game changer once he finds out, that's for certain. As to what Jenner told Fox, several people have theories about it, we shall see if they're right or not ;)

**Sage**: _Dude... best update ever. Few questions. HOW MANY MORE CHAPTERS?! What did Jenner tell Fox? What's going to happen? You'll answer none of those of course and leave me hanging... I love you :D I cried like a baby when Fox was talking and thinking about Daryl. This is literally the only thing I look forward to every day... and when I wake up to no update I die a little inside, but when there's a lovely update waiting for me I fangirl. I am truly thinking about editing a picture for you for this fanfic.._

Thank you! I really try to make sure every chapter that I give to you guys is the best that it can be, but I understand some are more tense and suspenseful and action-y than others =) How many more chapters? Chapter 43 will be the last chapter, and then I am also giving you guys an epilogue. A fic this long absolutely deserves it. So 3, counting this chapter. What did Jenner tell Fox? You shall have to read and find out my friend, and I love you too! I love all my readers and reviewers, you're the ones that make writing this so worth it. Awww, you cried? Wow! Totally wasn't expecting that reaction. Because this story is written from 3rd person perspective, I really wanted to give a few glimpses into the minds of the characters, hence the italicized thought processes, and so I'm glad it was as moving as I'd hoped it would be. And let it be known my dear friend that whenever I see reviews in my inbox my heart jumps and spins around with glee, so the feeling is quite mutual =) OMG, if you were to edit a pic for this fic I WOULD BE SO HONORED! Honored and thrilled, I'm already super flattered your considering it! Now I really want you too! Pleaseeee? Either way, I always really really appreciate every single review, they mean the world to me =D

**NIGHTSCREAM**: _good lord, she's pregnant isn't she? Good fic! gets better every chapter._

Mm, is that what Jenner told her? Well, well, well, you shall just have to read and find out!

**Jerrie Higarashi**: _Oh hell fucking yeah! Let's kick some ass Fox! We ain' done yet! Oh lawd, this chapter was just...so eventful and action packed! Daryl's feelings was just... YES! TOTAL WIN! *Sighs and pulls out a Black N' Mild and lights it* Yep, usually it's Newports but for this shit? I gotta take out the heavy stuff. Okay. *takes a drag* Philip needs to gon' 'head and die. Where the fuck is Milton? Lol His bitch... I miss that little scary bastard! *Exhales* Hmm, Fox is a strong ass women. She needs to stay that way. When is the others going to come? I'm afraid for her life! *Shivers and stares at the glowing light of my black* Good Lord... She's pregnant huh? Godammit... We have another Ass kicker huh? *takes a long drag and exhales through my nose* The fucking struggle. Oh well, Fox is strong so she'll be a good Mama. :D Keep going gurh! This story is what keeps me going. Lol I died when she was like "Suck my Dick ..." I was like..."this bitch is bad!" Bad as in good bad. :) *Nods and stares at the smoke in the air*_

Oh no, she ain't anywhere near being done yet, but there really is only so much one body can take, and she is really being pushed to her limit. Oooh all of Daryl's angst, it was actually hard to write, cause I've grown so attached to him, I hate to see him suffer. But there is no part of him that is giving up. Hell no. 42 is the show down my friend, so you'd better grab your smokes and hang on tight. I debated on writing Milton in or not but when I was working out the plot, again, I hadn't seen Season 3, so I wasn't familiar with his character, so I opted out of using him, though if I had known I might have thrown him in. Ooh, the question continues to arise whether Fox is preggo with Daryl's own little ass kicker. You will just have to read and find out if that is indeed the little bit of info Jenner told her ;) Mm, I definitely wanted there to be some trash talking, mostly on Fox's part, I went back through the earliest chapters of the story and noted the way in which she treats strangers who piss her off. Fox is definitely bad, in all the right ways ;)

**Guest**: _*gasp* what is it? Oh my gosh is she pregnant maybe?! That would be some strange twist!_

Is she? The thought has occurred to multiple reviewers now. You shall just have to read and find out! ;)

**WinterIsComing01**: _WHAT did Jenner tell her?! Don't you hold out! You know I forgot to say in my last review that I also had a hunch that the kid they found was Randall and as it would seem, I was correct! I really like how you find new and different ways to incorporate the characters. Well, Merle and Philip are really beating the shit out of her, aren't they? I wonder if Merle is using some sort of restraint though, because honestly a malnourished girl like Fox, who is not very big to start with, could barely survive one, MAYBE two, brutal beatings by a strong man like Merle. So I sincerely hope there's an understanding between him and Philip that he has to hold back a little bit otherwise Fox is about to be mush. Hope she can withstand this next beating. Apparently what Jenner told her still wasn't enough for her to cooperate. But then again, Merle and Philip can't afford to beat her to death for real, can they? Then the location and the sample die with her. Ugh, what to do, what to do?_

*gasp* What did Jenner tell her eh? Well he told her that…nope. You know that I MUST hold out on you, at least for a little bit xD. Mmhm, indeed, I couldn't resist dragging Randall in, just for a little while, he fit the bill perfectly for that niche, so I was glad to be able to use him. Hopefully he'll meet with a better fate this time. As far as Merle and the force he's exerting on Fox…it's definitely enough to really, really hurt. Enough that most people would crack. But there is a tense understanding that they do need her alive, so it's not quite at maybe maximum power, but its definitely up there. He's not holding back enough to spare her much pain. Fox can take quite a lot, but its more worrisome if her mental defense started to crack, which can happen from sleep deprivation, so here's hoping that the calvary swoops in soon, cause she can only go for so long without losing it… And what Jenner told her, its important to her, but at present what's more important is that Daryl, Rick, and the group have the best odds of getting in and out alive when they come to get her, and so that's what she's clinging too. Philip certainly could beat her to death…and while that would put him at a disadvantage in a variety of ways, he would adapt. Therein lies another parallel between him and Rick. Given the shittiest of circumstances, they make the most out of it, although whose needs they're serving is obviously quite different.

**hayleyjune13**: _OH MY GOD, so good!_

Why thank you for saying so! I hope that I continue to keep living up to all of the praise and attention that this fic is garnering =)

* * *

The drive into the mountains was incredibly long and tedious, punctuated only when they absolutely had to stop. The air was getting a lot dryer as they went ever northward, skirting wrecked debris on the interstate, blowing past a few staggering Walkers here and there as they went. They'd been going for almost thirty six hours straight and at this point Daryl was all but shaking from exhaustion when finally the convoy took off on an exit from the interstate, following a lonely highway, the snowy crags of the Rockies in sight through the haze of iron grey cloud cover. They blew through a small town, not stopping even as the darkness began to fall as the clouds finally began to break. The stars burned like diamonds with fires inside them against the sharpest sky Daryl could ever remember seeing. It wasn't like the skies in the South, heavy with their inked darkness, like a thick blanket pressing down close to the world. These skies were so much higher, so much colder, but so much clearer. He was clearer, even now, fighting through the exhaustion and the hunger. Through the drive the wind had begun speaking to him and through the howls and the snarl of his bike he heard husky rasps in his ear, the crooned grating words of his love and the words she offered up only to him, the humming of an acoustic guitar backing her. To stay awake he'd found himself mouthing the words of her songs against the wind as the night grew deeper and deeper and the remains of civilization faded behind them, the headlights the only source of light on this black as pitch road. There was nothing out here, nothing but wind and snow and the pale moonlight sweeping over the planes of the valley before highlighting the snowy peaks ahead of them.

Eventually the highway bent, bringing them closer to the mountains, running almost parallel to them. The road became swallowed up in thick conifer trees, their limbs weighed down heavily with snow and the darkness became all consuming, the beams of the headlights barely making a dent. Daryl's body shivered against the deep cold and the terrible sense of isolation that began to consume him, despite the fact he was still with the convoy. Thoughts of Fox maybe trapped somewhere in darkness like this yanked at his heart like a piece of meat on a hook and his stomach squirmed uncomfortably. He felt close, so close that he was tempted to open the throttle and race to the finish line, just to see her and know that she was safe in his arms. He had never felt so possessive, such a deep, deep yearning for anyone in his life, even for her the few times he'd thought she'd been in danger. It had never been anything like this before. He struggled to focus on the ever narrowing road as it twisted and turned through the low rising hills at the base of the mountain peak, his thoughts consumed by her.

_Ain't gonna shake me this time. I know you can fight for yourself, but I'm standing with you anyway. Don't fight with me about it. I'll teach these bastards a lesson they'll never ever forget. They tangled with the wrong son of a bitch and I brought hell to back me up. But I'll still give ya the satisfaction of blowing a few brains out, cause I know you will anyway. _And she'd of smirked to him and flashed him a look that said she agreed with everything he'd said and then tempted him to follow her. And he would. He'd follow her no matter where she ran, or in this case, where she'd been taken. He would take her back, and this time, he'd never let her go. Ever.

Eventually they came to a turn off of a dusty path where the trees pressed so close their snow laden branches almost scraped his arms and the handles of his bike as they wound through the dangerously narrow path until it opened just slightly to reveal a well built cabin without any lights on that they could see. They killed their engines and Daryl gratefully swung off the bike as everyone but Benjamin and Judith piled out, weapons already fully loaded and the safeties off. Rick had Randall by the scruff of the neck, forcing his head down even as Carl kept him covered with the gun while Daryl trotted forward, double-checking his thirty eight had a bullet in the chamber. His crossbow already had a bolt drawn up, ready and waiting for him to shoot.

"Randall says they use this place as a look out post incase a herd ever came up the mountain. If we're gonna crack their base, we need to be at full power. We'll stay here and hit them at dawn." He explained to which Daryl nodded. It killed him to know that he had to wait even more but his rational side agreed with Rick. Even though he might have felt like he could have killed a grizzly with his bare hands, he knew better. He could feel the tell tale shaking in his limbs and the fuzziness gathering in his head, and he wasn't about to risk Fox or anybody else with him like that. Randall was whining something pitifully about to please let him go but Daryl was far too focused on the task at hand to pay much attention.

"Now you shut the hell up and let us work." Rick snarled, clenching the kid's neck hard before knocking him back against the Jeep. "Carl you stay and guard him while we sweep the house, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, let's go." Rick ordered. His son nodded and kept his pistol trained on their hostage while the rest of them swept towards the house.

Rick kicked the door in and immediately they came through, knowing the dangers of being bottle necked at the doorway. They swept their guns, using the moonlight streaming in through the glass windows to help them see. Although the place was sparsely furnished and was a cold dark cave at the moment, all that greeted them was silence. They fanned out and quickly searched the cabin, pulling open every door, checking every closet and under every bed (of which there were three) before they came back out onto the porch and signaled to Carl to bring Randall up. They tied the kid to the heavy wooden table in the little dining area just off the kitchen and then Daryl went to get Benjamin and Judith. The medic was all too grateful to pass him the little squirming bundle after having to tend her the entire time they'd been driving. She was starting to cry as the hour for her usual nighttime feeding had passed. As they went back inside and lit a few of the lanterns that they'd found scattered around the house Maggie started fixing her a bottle which he gratefully accepted as soon as it was made, not having to work very hard to coax Judith into nursing. He paced slowly as he fed her as the others dragged in their stuff. They didn't risk a fire in the fireplace in front of the sofa so no one took their coats off as they began to settle in.

"Here, I'll take her if you want to eat something." Maggie offered as Glenn started pulling out a few of their supplies of food so they could get something solid into their stomachs.

"It's ok, I got her." Daryl said quietly. In truth his stomach was growling something fierce but he'd wait until she was done and asleep before he ate. Maggie nodded and went to help Glenn who was working on a pot of rice, taking advantage of the gas stove. By the time dinner was made, which consisted of rice mixed in with several cans of veggies and Spam (which had never been one of Daryl's favorites, but he'd had enough of tuna to last him a long time), Judith was very close to being asleep in his arms having sucked down her bottle voraciously.

"I swear she doesn't drink, she just inhales." He commented as he carefully lowered her down into her little box which he took to the living room floor at the foot of the sofa before heading into the kitchen to get his plate. They all sat down in a circle on the floor in the living room, gazing at each other in silence as they wolfed down their food, eating more than they usually did, knowing damn well they'd need it. As they ate Rick began to speak, working out their plan for tomorrow morning.

"On the drive up here, Randall told me that the base is built into a network of caves and mines that were drilled into the mountains. The CDC, with funding from Uncle Sam, had the place built incase of nuclear attack or some kind of disaster just like what's happened. It's well stocked with ammunition and guns but not a lot of soldiers who really know what they're doing; most of them died on the front lines when the outbreak first started. In the morning we'll go up the mountain and find the best way to get inside the base. Randall can take us down into the cells where Fox is likely being held. They're deep in the base at the furthest level away from the surface, right in the heart of enemy territory." He said heavily, looking at each one of them with a tensed, stressed expression.

"Great." Glenn muttered, sweeping a hand through his messy dark hair. "How many of us are going in?"

"Me, Daryl, and you." Rick answered as he scraped his plate clean. "Benjamin has to stay here with the baby, and Maggie, I need you waiting with the cavalry to get us out. Fox may not be in any condition to walk and it's a long way from the base back down the mountain, and if we're under fire, we'll need wheels."

The brunette nodded. "I'll take the Jeep, it's got more room and better grip than my car." She answered. Daryl could see the relief on Glenn's face that Maggie would be in less danger than the rest of them.

"And what about me?" Carl demanded as he looked up from his plate to meet his father's eyes. "If you guys are going down there, then I want to come too. I can help."

Rick shook his head. "No. Absolutely not. I need you here to help take care of your sister. I'm not putting you in danger like that." His voice held the authority of both a father, and a leader telling a soldier to stand down, but Carl would have none of it. His eyes burned and Daryl saw a flash of Rick's stubbornness in him.

"I'm part of this group, Dad. I can handle it. I don't need you to look out for me, I'm just as capable as the rest of you. I'm not a kid anymore." And in that one moment, his voice was so aged, so adult, so weighted down with guilt and responsibility it hurt Daryl's heart to see it. He was a soldier trapped in a boy's body and by the virtue of his age his father didn't want to allow him the chance to prove his strength. Rick's jaw tightened, preparing to argue back and Daryl found the man's eyes.

"Let him. I took him with me on a run while we were holed up in the school. We got caught in a bad herd and he did just fine. Covered us and even took point to clear the path when we were running for the car. He's got a steady hand and a sharp eye." Daryl found the boy's eyes and although there wasn't an acknowledgement as equals, there was a mutual respect there. Daryl knew all too well what it was like trying to do a man's job in a kid's body, it wasn't a fate he'd wish on him, but if it had to be that way, the least they could do was acknowledge the fact that while his age might be lower, the responsibility on his shoulders wasn't any less than theirs. He shifted his gaze back to Rick who was watching him closely.

"Alright. But Carl, you have to do exactly what I say when I say, and if I say run, you run. If I say shoot to kill you shoot to kill, alright? You think you can handle that?" Rick asked, all seriousness and no threat in his voice.

Carl nodded. "They took Fox. They killed Andrea. They probably killed Sophia. They're dangerous, and I won't let them hurt us anymore."

"Ok then. Me, Daryl, Glenn, and Carl will head into the base tomorrow. Hopefully we can slip past the guards and civilians inside without a fire fight, but if it comes down to it, you don't hesitate to kill. We came for our own, we're not losing anybody else in getting her back. Now from what Randall told me the base is built like a maze, meant to be confusing for anybody trying to invade, or to get back out. And anybody feel free to jump in with anything you have to add, because I'm playing it by ear here." He looked up at them all and Daryl could see the vulnerability and the doubt in his eyes. It was just a flicker, but he also heard the pained last words Carol had given to Rick and he realized he was thinking of them now too. Asking them for help.

"Me, Glenn, and Carl will go into the base first and provide a distraction. Send them running and scattering as much as we can and guard the entrance to the basement where the cells are. Daryl you'll go down into the cells and bring Fox out. As soon as you have her, you'll meet back with us and we'll get out together as a group. Maggie you'll be waiting just out of sight of the base with the car so we can make a quick getaway. We'll come back down here to the cabin and tend to Fox if she's been injured. If the enemy pursues us, we'll keep going until we shake them."

"If we get separated or the plan goes to hell, how are we going to make sure we all get out?" Carl asked, glancing at his father as if he hoped his interjection didn't shoot himself in the foot.

Rick got up and crossed the small room to where Randall was tied up at the bottom of the table. "You said they had radios here in the cabin. Where?" he demanded.

"In the back room in their cases. Batteries should be there too. There should be at least one signal you can get with them that the base's radios won't pick up on."

Daryl got up and took his now scraped clean plate to the kitchen and set it in the sink before going into the back room and found the cases that Randall had mentioned. There were two boxes and inside still stashed in their foam packaging were four radios. He brought them out into the living room and put them on the table and the rest of the group gathered around. Rick popped the batteries in and adjusted the signals until he seemed satisfied and they all went through several rounds of testing until they were comfortable with using them.

"And what will we do with him?" Glenn asked once they switched the radios off and set them down on the kitchen counter out of any possible reach from Randall. At the mention of his fate Randall squirmed a little, looking very uneasy as they all looked down at him.

Rick turned and looked at Daryl. "What do you think?" he asked quietly.

Daryl looked down at the kid. He was a nervous scrap of a boy, pretty much the equivalent of Benjamin without the medic skills. Daryl didn't consider him all that dangerous but that didn't mean he wouldn't cause a lot of trouble for them. A voice inside whispered to kill him, just in case, but he stilled before he spoke. He looked at the faces of the group and then thought of Fox. He could see her green eyes watching him, weighing the situation carefully, and looking back at him with a knowing little smirk.

"Once we get Fox back and we're headed out, we'll cut him loose." Daryl said finally.

Rick nodded and looked down at the kid. "It's your lucky day. But you'll stay right where you are until such time as we see that its safe to let you go. And be quiet will you? Or I'm sure Daryl won't mind stuffing a rag down your throat again." Daryl eyeballed the kid with a steely stare and watched him swallow hard and duck his head, avoiding his eyes again.

Rick called the group back together in the living room and they all sat down again, pulling in close, Judith in the middle, still sleeping soundly in her little box. Rick looked at them all very closely.

"Tomorrow we'll be doing something that we never thought we'd have to do. We may have to kill the living in order to save one of our own. But I know you. None of you would hurt someone if they hadn't deserved it, and I know that you'll protect each other with your lives. And if I ever had to face something like this…you're the ones I'd want to have at my side." It was an acknowledgement of their faith in him, and that was part of what made Rick the leader that he was. Despite the secrecy and the hell they'd found themselves in, he rewarded their loyalty as much as he could, with the words that he had and the protection he would have given his life to guarantee for them. They all knew it, and they trusted him. Just as he trusted them. There were all doubts floating around inside their heads for various different reasons, but that wasn't what was important now, and they knew it. They couldn't pull themselves apart right before risking their lives. Daryl remembered Dale's sad proclamation that the group was broken just before his death and he found his resolve stiffening in his chest.

_You're wrong old man. You're wrong and somewhere you're dancing in your grave cause of it. Good. Do me a favor and let God or whoever the fuck isn't there know he's gonna have to wait a little longer for the rest of our souls. _

Glenn's face flushed with a little bit of embarrassment and Maggie leaned against him with a smile. When she pulled back a little she looked at them one by one, her hands leaning against the carpet. Her voice was soft when she spoke but it grew stronger towards the end.

"When my family was killed in the first part of the outbreak…I didn't know how I was going to go on. It was just me and Beth and that was it…the rest of us had been killed and thinking how in the hell was I ever going to be able to take care of my sister and keep us both alive. And then we found you all and even though we lost Beth…" she sniffed a little and Glenn wrapped his fingers around hers tightly. "Y'all are my family. And if anything happens tomorrow…" she shivered and steadied her voice. "I don't regret anything."

Normally they would have separated into different rooms when they slept but tonight they all pulled in close, using their sleeping bags or cushions from the couch, all of them within an arm's reach of each other, Judith in the middle of their crooked circle. Daryl's restlessness took a long time to dissipate, but the slow, steady breathing of the group around him helped to ease his disquiet. Except that the most crucial piece was missing. Fox's body heat wasn't against his side, her smell of spice and woods was gone, and the soft exhale of her breath wasn't against his skin. His arms felt empty as he turned onto his side and closed his eyes again. But despite the restlessness once he stopped moving, he gave himself over to his exhaustion. He hadn't slept in almost thirty six hours and he knew he'd need every ounce of clarity he could get for tomorrow. His dreams were full of dark, moonless woods, blood red hair turned black as he chased a phantom in the night, and the rumbling snarl of the monster from his childhood, the chupacabra, hounding him through the shadows. He ran for as long and as hard as he could go, relentlessly chasing his phantom and running from the unrelenting hunt of his longtime enemy.

* * *

If she though the pain had been bad before, it was only ten times worse now. She'd been losing track of the hours she'd spent hanging in this cell, her wrists all but gushing blood at this point as the metal of the cuffs continued cutting deeply into her skin. She knew it had at least been over twenty four hour that she'd been here, just judging from the physical cycles her body was trying to go through, need for sleep, need for food. Her belly felt hollowed out from hunger and her brain was all but tearing itself to pieces with the need for sleep. Every time she got close to dozing off, as uncomfortable as she was, someone would come into the cell and smack her around for a while, adding more bruises, more pain. Eventually they'd stopped punching her and instead started taking police batons to her back and shoulders and chest, swinging them like baseball bats at the World Series. She'd cracked another rib and there was a large, sticky puddle of blood pooling at her feet.

Philip and Merle were in front of her, going for another round. They'd almost beat her into unconsciousness, repeating the same question, what did Rick know about what he'd taken from the CDC, and did the group know where she was? Because apparently the location of this base, or at least its general area, had been in a report in the CDC. Fox knew the answer to both questions. Yes, Rick knew what he had on him, how valuable it was. He had not told her its inner workings or very many details, but he had confessed that it was a sample of the disease that had caused the plague. And since Rick knew what he had, he also knew the general location for the base. She warned them again and again that Daryl was coming for her, but she didn't say whether Rick and the rest of the group was, because if they really were here, she'd hate for them to walk into a full blown ambush. It would be a suicide mission. If it was just Daryl on his own, Philip seemed willing to let Merle handle his little brother. Fox knew that probably didn't bode well for Daryl, but it was a lot less likely to be a death sentence than if they knew Rick and the entire group was coming.

"You ain't gonna last much longer Fox. I'll kill you at this point and shoot anything that gets too close to the base without authorization." Philip warned as another brutal wave of agony came down over her as Merle struck her with the baton. Her entire body was black and blue, her face was a mangled piece of meat, she could barely see out of her right eye thanks to the bruising and swelling, and she had lost feeling in her hands a long time ago, but her shoulders ached ferociously. She knew she couldn't last much longer, but she just held onto the thoughts of Daryl and the group and life outside this hell hole that she was sure she'd die in. If she was going to die, it wouldn't be in fear or begging for her life.

"And then you'd lose your favorite punching bag." She snarled. She spat blood at his feet, clearing her mouth. She could taste blood in the back of her throat from the repeated blows to her nose, which had long since broken. It hurt so much to breathe, every little draw in was like fire in her chest and belly, but she had to keep breathing. In and out. It was a mantra she refused to let go of.

Philip looked like he was rearing back for a strike when they heard a massive bang. It actually rattled the cell that they were in and made both Philip and Merle step back.

"What in God's name was that?" Merle questioned. Philip didn't answer, merely tilted his head, listening closely. And that was when Fox heard it. Screaming. Gunfire.

"Hell." Fox hissed, her eyes flashing. Whatever it was, be it a Walker invasion, her group, or some kind of catastrophe, it wasn't good for them, and that meant it was good for her.

"You better fucking hope not." Philip growled before motioning to Merle and they ran out of the room, slamming the door to her cell shut. She whimpered a breath of pain as her body swayed on the cuffs and she stared up at the ceiling, sweat blooming on her skin and mixing with the blood, washing her face in red.

_Daryl, that better be you. I'm hanging on, but not for much longer. Please be you. Please. Please God, please be him. Please. _

* * *

"Come on!" Daryl snarled. He shoved Randall in the back with the tip of his buck knife. They skittered around corners and down hallways, keeping to the shadows and ducking around the edges of walls and doors when people walked past, mumbling about jobs they had to do or whatever it is that was going on in their meaningless lives. The seconds were ticking down. Rick and the others were about to start their diversion to draw the attention away from the back entrance of the base that they'd come into, the entrance where they'd gained access. It was an old mine shaft that the vehicles would come into in order to unload supplies or take away the trash, less guarded than the front entrance, but still surrounded by a wall with barbed wire and patrolled by guards. They'd found a weak spot in the wall, a small portion of it which had been built out of chain linked fence backed by scraps of wood nailed in and braced from the other side, but not deep enough to keep them out. After they'd created a small diversion, they'd gained access and slipped into the mine shaft, knocking anybody they came in contact with unconscious and then heading down into the tunnels of stone, deeper and deeper into the heart of this hell hole. When they'd reached the bottom floor the group had split up. Daryl would go with Randall to the cells, Rick and the others would create as large a diversion as they could in order to buy him time to get Fox out. They'd decided to go all out and storm into the cafeteria and set off smoke bombs and grenades that they'd found tucked away in the cabin where they'd been staying. According to Randall's directions they should just about be there. He and the kid were heading into the basement, towards the cells, towards his beloved.

They took another flight of steps down and at its foot they paused. Randall kept looking over his shoulder back up the staircase where they'd come, and then down towards the hall that they couldn't see because of its sharp bend.

"Down there are the cells." Randall hissed, his voice trembling wildly. "Please, let me go man, you don't need me now. Please."

"You stay here!" Daryl snarled, shoving the kid down under the metal steps they'd just come down. "You run and bring danger back with you, I will put a bullet between your eyes, and that's a fucking promise." He warned.

"Awww, Daryl, don't be like that. He's just a kid."

Daryl froze. He knew that voice. He had known it all his life, and even though he hadn't heard it in over a year, he could feel it crawling down his spine, digging into the back of his skull and neck, burrowing up into his brain and down into his gut to make his stomach turn.

He turned and faced his brother. The pair of Dixons stared at each other like tom cats sizing each other up for a fight. Daryl's eyes traced down his brother's arm and saw the prosthetic metal contraption that covered his stump of a wrist and his stomach twisted again. It was like being doused with cold water to see his brother after so long, but the pressure was mounting. He only had so much time, there was no time to catch up or even to figure out where they stood with each other. All of that bullshit could be sorted out later. Right now, there was one and only one thing on his mind.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"Where's who little brother?" Merle drawled, his blue eyes cold and full of snide humor. The anger burned through Daryl's veins like his blood had been set to blaze.

"You know damn well who, where the hell is she!" Daryl snarled. He stalked forward towards Merle, his crossbow still strapped to his body, his gun tucked into his belt.

"Lower your voice, or he'll come running!" Merle hissed, a little bit of seriousness coming into his voice. "Come take a walk with me brother."

Daryl stood his ground. "I came for her, and I ain't leaving without her. Give her to me and we'll get out of here together." He said, his hands curling into fists at his sides. He was beginning to hear commotion coming from above them. He could all but hear the ticking of the clock inside his head. His heart pounded beneath his ribs as he sucked down air trying to steady his hands. He was willing to take Merle with him, to vouch for him in front of Rick. None of the group would like it, but they were blood. But if he didn't cooperate, he would do things the hard way.

"That your pals making trouble for us?" Merle asked. When Daryl didn't answer he just shrugged. "Well, hope you don't mind them being blown to bits. Cause that's exactly what Philip and the doctor's gonna do. Now come along. I've got it all worked out for you. You do as I say and we'll get out of here and leave the whole fucking lot of them behind and go back to the way things were before."

Daryl shook his head. "No. I came here for her, and I ain't leaving without her." He snarled. His heart rate was slowing down as the deep, deep rage at having been separated from Fox in such a violent way curled through him, burning away the fear and hesitation. He loved his brother, they were blood, he would never betray him. But that didn't mean he wouldn't lose his patience, and that patience was a lot like a glass egg balanced on the tip of a knife, and every moment Merle wasted his time was a tremor in the ground beneath the blade.

Merle sighed as though he was tired, like Daryl was a five year old who had been pestering him all day with stupid questions. "Listen to me little brother. She ain't going anywhere. She's on death's door. Fact she's probably got the reaper on the phone right now, so why don't you come on and we'll get the hell out while we have the chance."

Daryl snapped, the glass shattering. He flung himself straight at Merle and smashed him into the back wall of the hall, back against a cold metal door, his arm pinning over his big brother's throat, squeezing hard as he used one foot to crush Merle's to the ground, helping to hold him back.

"Where is she!? Take me to her! NOW!" he snarled.

Merle shot his free hand out and yanked Daryl on the back of head by the hair, causing the younger Dixon to cry out in pain while Merle slung his little brother off and to the floor. He kicked Daryl a good one in the stomach to keep him down.

"You pathetic little bitch!" Merle snarled. "Have you completely fucked away every last bit of sense you ever had?" he demanded. He snatched for Daryl again but his little brother was fast. He was up on his feet and driving into him again, rearing his fist back for a hard punch, but Merle snagged him by the wrist and flung him hard into the opposite wall. Daryl's head cracked a good one on the stone, and at the same moment the radio in his belt shattered into dozens of plastic pieces against the stone wall. In the dizzied haze that followed Merle shoved open a door and forced him through it, kicking it shut behind him and flipping the latch to lock it while Daryl picked himself up off the floor.

"Merle! I ain't fucking playing around! Take me to her!" Daryl demanded, wiping blood away from a shallow cut at his hair line from where his skull had taken a good knock against the wall. More of that oh so common feeling he always had when Merle was around bubbled up through his veins. That feeling that said he wasn't worth his brother's respect. That feeling he hated, that for most of his life had him risking bodily injury just to try and measure up to Merle's expectations. There would be no measuring this time. This time he hadn't come to dick around with stupid petty rivalries and competition. He'd come for something far more important.

"Brother, you don't understand." Merle warned, the first tenors of desperation in his voice. "Philip ain't gonna let you out of here alive, and even if your pals are still fighting, its only a matter of time before they're shot to shit. Now I could take you to your little girl and you can see she's still alive, but Philip ain't gonna let you go if he finds you. He'll kill you for spite little brother. And he'll do it in front of her, just before he guts her."

Daryl's eyes blazed like blue flames. "No. You won't stop me from putting a knife in his throat and taking her back." He advanced on Merle, his shoulders and arms flexing with rippled muscle, like a lion getting ready to pounce. "If he's hurt her, I'll rip him limb from limb."

"I will to keep you alive you ungrateful little brat!" Merle spat. "He knows you're here and he's on his way right now to make sure that he's waiting for you when you go into her cell. So come with me, right now, while we have the chance to escape! Are you really gonna leave me behind again?" Merle asked, dark anger and a threat curling into his voice.

Daryl stared at his brother, his only remaining blood kin in the world, and his hands curled into fists. "You left me." He growled. The anger was so strong it was threatening to overwhelm the last tenor of his control. It shook him, not just internally, but hard enough that his arms were literally shaking with the restraint he was using to hold himself back. The clock just kept ticking, the passing seconds like a pounding drum inside his skull, but if he had to have it out with Merle to get past him, then he would. It was time his big brother knew the truth. There was nothing left to hide.

"Every single time. When we were kids, in Atlanta, every single time we've been split up, its cause you walked out on me!" His voice spiraled into a shout as he stepped towards Merle. His brother held his ground and bared his teeth, spitting at his brother's feet.

"I did what I had to do! You had no idea…no fucking idea, you stupid little bitch, I did what I to do so I didn't go to prison for the rest of my life for killing that stupid bastard!" he snarled, beginning to pace around and around with Daryl.

"You should have killed him!" Daryl howled, shoving his brother hard in the chest and back into the wall. "You should have killed him! Killed him and ended it for both of us!"

Merle froze and stared at him. "The hell do you mean?"

It was a waste of time and an admission of his weakness but Daryl couldn't take it anymore. He yanked off his jacket and spun around, jerking up his shirt so it came up over his head but was still around his shoulders, exposing his back to Merle. And then he saw the scars. The multitude of wounds that he'd accrued over the years that he'd languished in his father's house while Merle had gotten off Scott fucking free. The scars he'd gotten from their father _after _Merle had left him there in that hell alone to fend for himself. The scar on his chest was the only one he'd received while Merle had been there.

"That's what I mean." Daryl snarled, pulling his shirt back down and putting his coat back on. "That's what I fucking mean. He did the same to you and you ran away like a fucking pussy and left me there with him!" he turned back to face Merle, rage blazing in his eyes. "I never walked away from you. And so help me God, if we split up again because of this, its because you were too damn selfish and too damn stupid to help me. I'm your only blood, Merle, and if you want to walk away again, fucking go right ahead. I'm through chasing after you. The only ones I have any interest in chasing after are the ones that have ever given a damn about me in my whole life!"

He spun and flung the door open again and went running down the hall, looking in the small panes of glass for the ones that were occupied. There was only one, near the end. His heart almost exploded in his chest as he reared his foot back and kicked the door in. Except it was already unlocked. The door clanged violently in its hinges as the force of his kick sent it hurtling into the wall. But that wasn't what he noticed.

What he noticed was her. Fox, hanging by her wrists from a pair of scarlet stained handcuffs, her head down between her arms, her two toned hair a bloody bedraggled mess hanging down around her face and chest. Her body was bowed forward, her toes twitching and shaking near the floor, a large pool of blood beneath her boots, staining her jeans and shirt. Her entire body trembled with every breath and it seemed to take all her strength to lift up her head. And when he saw her eyes, her eyes…he almost died right then. They were still hers, but oh they were in so much pain. Even animals caught in steel traps did not show so much pain. Her right eye was completely swollen shut, and the other, still green, was dulled and had lost the luster he was so used to seeing from her. It was a faded ghost of the soul he knew inside her and he realized even without knowing the extent of her injuries how close to death she really was. His flesh burned with rage, rage that this had happened, that he hadn't been here to stop it, that the ones who had caused this were still alive. He took a step forward and that was when he realized someone was standing beside Fox, holding a gun to her head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unless you want me to end her pain right now."

The same man who had gunned down Andrea in Indiana was holding the gun. He looked so calm, as though he were discussing what was for dinner and not holding the life of someone Daryl loved in his hands. Anger scored through Daryl like a branding iron and he barely noticed when he felt Merle come up behind him.

"We want what you have. Now where is Rick?" Philip demanded, still holding the silver pistol at Fox's head.

Daryl's heart slammed between his teeth. Fox was barely moving now, her head having bowed forward between her arms again, no strength left in her to hold it up. He could feel the cause of all this horror resting against the skin of his chest on its long chain, his heart beating against it like a jackhammer on concrete. When Daryl hesitated on answering for just a second too long he reared back and slammed Fox in the back of the neck with the butt of the pistol. She keened with tremendous pain, her body swaying on the hook, her cuffed wrists spilling blood at a dangerously high rate. Daryl snarled with rage like a wolf and charged forward but Merle snagged him around the chest, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Don't do it brother. He'll kill you in front of her just to have her suffer." Merle panted as he struggled to hold Daryl back.

"Let me go!" Daryl howled. "Merle, please, let me go! Let me go, she's fucking dying for Christ's sake!" He kicked and jerked and thrashed, fighting like a cat about to get a soaking, but Merle was strong, even with only one hand. He shoved Daryl into the wall and held his body down into him to force him still, his legs splayed, wrists pinned, one twisted up his back and held firm by his body weight, the other forced against the wall. Merle was having to use every ounce of strength in him to hold Daryl back, pressing his forehead into his brother's neck to keep him from flinging his head back and cracking him in the jaw. He was still struggling to hold him back, wanting to pull him away from the cell before he could make the situation any worse when Philip moved.

Philip approached them, sheathing his pistol and coming up towards Daryl who was still squirming relentlessly against the wall. He reached forward and plucked Daryl's knife out of his sheathe and caressed the blade in his fingertips gently.

"You've probably killed a lot of biters with this, haven't you?" he asked nonchalantly as he watched it gleam in the lone light bulb hanging over the metal table in the center of the room. "Ever put it through a living person's skull before?"

"I'll put it through yours!" He snarled. "Yours and anybody who gets in my way!"

Philip tilted his head casually and shrugged his shoulders. He walked back to where Fox was hanging and slowly ran his fingers through her hair, combing it gently away from her face, revealing the mangled mess she had become. She flinched against the touch and vainly tried to pull away, but she whimpered from the intense pain the movement against the cuffs caused. Daryl's stomach heaved with revulsion as he was forced to watch Philip continue to pet her. He ran his palm all against her face and neck and down her back, slowly pulling her hair off to one side, revealing the left side of her face, the one where her eye was still open and wasn't quite as badly bruised as the right. He sighed quietly and spun the buck knife in his fingers.

"You know, it really is a shame. She does have a pretty face, even all bloodied up." He positioned himself beside Fox, giving Daryl all the room he would ever need to see. His hand turned tight into her hair and held her head up high enough so she could look into Daryl's eyes, and he saw the terrified trembling there.

"Merle! Merle please, don't do this, don't let him do this, let me go, please, brother, please!" Daryl howled. He couldn't be bothered to care he was begging, nothing mattered except what was unfolding in front of him. Philip had raised the knife and let it press into Fox's temple. A drop of scarlet blood appeared, staining the small bits of her skin that weren't already tainted with scarlet. He dug in deeper still and Fox moaned with pain, beginning to squirm as much as she could but the hand in her hair forced her still.

"Merle! Brother, let me go! Let me go, please! Don't let this happen, don't do this to me! If you ever loved me let me go!" Daryl cried out in agony and terror as he watched Philip dig the knife deeper still, creating a thick gash and then dragging it down. Further and further and further, slowly, ever so slowly, down beneath the corner of Fox's eye across her cheekbone towards the edge of her nose and towards her lip. She was screaming now, screaming and shaking violently as Philip held her fast by the hair, her feet trying to kick but it caused her wrists too much pain.

Daryl screeched wordless howls of pain and unbridled fury. He redoubled his efforts against his brother but it was too no avail. Merle delivered him a staggering blow into the small of his back and as the crippling pain rocketed through him Merle was able to drag him out of the room. He dragged and kicked and shoved until he'd forced Daryl into another cell and slammed the door shut, leaving Daryl in the cold damp room alone. But it was only the next cell over, and in the stone dungeon he could hear the screams; the screaming, the awful uncontrollable screaming of his love. On and on it went for what had to have been an eternity. Daryl flung himself against the cell door over and over and over again, bashing in his shoulder so hard that he came close to dislocating it. And all the while the screaming continued. He cursed and shouted and screamed himself, trying his best to uproot the metal table that was bolted to the floor in order to try and use it to bash open the door to the cell but it wouldn't give. He slammed himself again into the door before he collapsed into a heap, tears streaming down his face as he continued listening to Fox's cries in the next cell. Despair and rage competed for the forefront of his emotions, each one as strong as the other. He flung himself at the door again and again, kicking at the lock, even pulling out his thirty eight and firing several shots into it, but it didn't work. He was just about to aim for the glass when he saw motion outside and through the tiny pane he recognized Rick. The man raised a small rounded object to the window for Daryl to see and he recognized it immediately. A grenade.

Daryl ran for it to the back of the cell and hunkered down into the corner, covering his head with his arms as he counted the seconds. A massive bang roared through the stone room as dust and debris and metal went flying, the door crashing into the table as Daryl lurched up to his feet. He cleared through the cloud of dust and stone and Rick snagged his shoulder as he came staggering into the hallway, covered in dust and choking on the debris in the air.

"Are you ok?" Rick demanded.

He didn't answer. He swung around and reared back with all his strength and kicked in the door that was between him and Fox. Because of the grenade it was bent out of shape in its frame and so the metal bolt holding it fast gave way under the intense pressure. He kicked it clean in and found Philip picking himself off the floor, and Fox hanging completely limp in the cuffs, blood gushing down her wrists as though they'd been slashed.

"Get him!" Daryl roared as he leapt the metal table and Glenn threw him his bolt cutters which he had thought to bring incase they encountered locks. Rick, Glenn and Carl scrambled over and around the table towards Philip who was trying to draw his gun but in his daze from the close grenade blast he wasn't fast enough. Daryl used the bolt cutters and snapped the chain in one go that held Fox captive. She didn't even try to stand, she simply staggered into his arms, her limbs flopping limply at her sides, her head falling into his chest.

"Fox! Fox look at me, open your eyes, please, open your eyes, look at me!" he cried, pushing her hair away from her face. He almost lost his guts when he saw what Philip had done.

There were three jagged cuts marring the left side of her face. The top one, the one he'd seen Philip give her and two more, one a little lower, splitting open the meat of her cheek, tracing diagonally across her face towards the edge of her lip, and the third starting at her ear, following the line of her jaw, biting in so deep to her flesh Daryl swore he saw bone as he followed the wound to just under her jaw and chin. Her face was a mask of blood and her eyes were closed. She felt cold and heavy in his arms and immediately he pressed his ear to her chest. Faintly, ever so faintly, he could hear her heart beating.

"She's alive." Daryl whispered. "She's alive but barely, we have to go, we have to get her to Benjamin, now!" Daryl said. "Glenn, Rick, take her!"

His friends moved and slung one of Fox's arms over their shoulders and Daryl took their place over Philip. The man was still covered by Carl's gun and so he stalked over and snatched his knife from his hand and crouched over him, fisting his hand into his hair and jerking his head back.

"I warned you." Daryl snarled, cold and absolutely ruthless. "I warned you that you would pay if you hurt her."

"Carl! Carl get over here!" Rick ordered, seeing the unbridled bloodlust and violence in Daryl's face and not wanting his son to witness what was about to happen. The boy spun on his heel just as Daryl moved.

Philip tried to open his mouth but he didn't get two seconds into his plea before Daryl rammed his blade up through his chin and into his skull, the tip of the long buck knife barely poking through the top of his skull. Daryl pivoted the knife, jerking with a considerable amount of force to split Philip's face open like he was butterflying a chicken to make it easier to cook. He set the knife aside and used his fingers to pry the man's face apart, exposing the inner workings of his mouth and face and parts of his brain as the fracture of his skull continued to split open like a windshield continues to spider-web after a crack gets into the glass. He pulled it open as far as it would go before diving his hand down into the skull cavity and curling his fingers around a chunk of brain and yanking it free, leaving a bloody exposed mess behind. He flung the piece of meat in his hands to the ground and stomped it under foot and somewhere behind him Glenn retched with disgust.

"Let's go." Daryl snarled as he turned to them.

Rick nodded. He too was swallowing back the bile from the bloody act he'd just witnessed but he didn't give any indication of reprehension. He slid out from under Fox as Daryl swept forward and took her from both men and scooped her into his arms bridal style. She was limp and so cold against him but he moved quickly, letting his friends take the lead.

"I got you sweetheart. I got you." He whispered into Fox's bleeding temple. "I have you now, you're ok." He didn't know if she could hear, but he hoped for her sake he could. His heart was hammering now with fear. She was dying in his arms and unless they could get her help soon, it would be over for her.

They were able to get up and through the tunnels and had almost made it back to the mine shaft where they'd entered in, but there at the end when they could see the light of day was one last obstacle. A lone man with a heavy automatic weapon in his hands and a crazed light in his eyes. He wore a blood stained lab coat, his blonde hair incredibly mussed as though someone had pulled on it hard in many different directions.

"Before you shoot me, let me warn you, I am the last one on the face of this whole damn planet that can create a cure for the plague, and I know you have the sample. I know you have it, now give it to me, or I'll kill him!" and from the shadows of the edge of the mine at his side he reached in his hand and grabbed Merle and pulled him out by the shirt collar and held the gun to his temple.

"Take her." Daryl murmured to Rick and Glenn who readjusted their weapons so they could use one hand to hold their guns and the other to support Fox. Carl stayed at his father's side as Daryl approached slowly, still holding his thirty eight.

"You bastards nearly destroyed my life, and for that, you should all die. All of you. I don't give two fucking shits if the world goes to hell now. Not a single piece of me cares about what happens to anybody left alive except for our group. You want what we have, you let us pass." He took the necklace off from around his neck and dangled it on its chain in front of them. "Or I'll crush it beneath my heel."

"You wouldn't dare." The doctor hissed, a hysterical trill of disbelief in his cracking voice.

"Daryl, come on man, what the hell are you doing?" Merle all but whined as the doctor thrust the gun harder into his temple.

"Shut up!" Daryl snarled at his brother. He turned back to the deranged doctor and curled his fist tighter around the chain. "You people have fucked with us for the last time. Let us pass or I'll destroy it. I don't give two fucking shits if the whole world goes to hell, it's already fucking gone! If you're in charge here you could have stopped what happened to her, but you didn't. Doesn't even matter if you didn't get your hands bloody, you should be eaten by Walkers for letting it happen. So get the fuck out of our way before I tear your skin off your bones and feed it to the geeks."

The deranged doctor looked from Daryl to Rick to Merle and back. Merle looked at his brother, complete disbelief in his eyes. Daryl couldn't be bothered to care. All he cared about now was getting help for Fox and getting the group out alive. Nothing else.

The doctor lowered the gun. "I'll walk you to our gate. You go through and throw it back to me. Deal?"

"I hope you rot in here." Daryl spat. He jerked his head and they all proceeded towards the front of the base, every person with a gun trained on them but the doctor shot them all looks not to fire. Apparently he was the real one in charge, not the man he had killed down in the cell. Daryl looked down absentmindedly almost and saw his hand was still blood stained and still had pieces of brain stuck to his skin from where he'd wrenched it free.

The gates were open when they got there. Rick, Fox, Glenn, and Carl went through first, Daryl turned and began to back towards them, still holding the necklace in his bloody fist, the doctor continuing to drag Merle with them but the gun was lowered.

"Now. You let him go, and you'll get this." Daryl growled, jerking his eyes at Merle.

The doctor looked between Merle and Daryl and while he kept the gun lowered he didn't let go just yet. "You two are brothers. And yet you don't seem to care if he dies, one way or the other. How sad." The deranged mad scientist released Merle who quickly stepped out of his reach and went forward towards Daryl who promptly raised his crossbow with one hand, aiming it straight at his brother's chest.

"No. I saved your life. We're done Merle. You let this happen to her. You made your bed. Lie in it alone. I'm done." He growled, his tone so much colder than the falling snow around them. He could feel the inner workings of his world collapsing around him, but all that mattered now was getting out from under the falling rubble. He would deal with the consequences of this later. Right now, only one thing mattered, and she was waiting behind him, bleeding and in so much pain she couldn't even stay conscious. Merle stood in front of him, a look of shock and horror and disbelief on his face, etched so deeply that Daryl actually believed its honesty.

"Daryl you can't do that! We're blood!" he cried. He took a step towards Daryl who only raised the bow higher and tightened his finger on the trigger.

"I begged you to help me brother, and you stood and let a man hack her face open. I begged you to help and you stopped me." Daryl said coldly. Most of the angered emotion in him had died. Exhaustion from what they had just done was sinking deep into his bones. Exhaustion and yet urgency. Fox was still behind him, still dripping blood, still dying.

"He would have shot you to death!" Merle said, kicking a clump of snow towards him in frustration. "I kept you from getting killed!"

Daryl shook his head. "No. And if she dies because of this, I will come for you. I will come for you, and I'll rip your heart out, the same as you will have done to me." He threw the necklace to the doctor. It landed in the snow at his feet and the doctor hastily scooped it up and cupped it in his hands to keep it warm, running back towards the base to get inside, hardly caring about the standoff going on behind him. He disappeared inside and Daryl focused his attention back on his brother.

"Do not come for me, Merle. You left me for the last time." Daryl warned. The finality of his words were clear. He wasn't going to do this anymore. Merle had hurt him for the last time. He may have been his brother, he might have been the last blood he had left in the world, but that wasn't enough to erase what he'd done. He'd held him back from rescuing Fox from a fate that might have been worse than death. The scars on her face roared to the front of his mind and his stomach rolled so hard he was almost lost his guts again. He lowered his bow and began to back away.

"Daryl! Daryl don't do this!" Merle howled with miserable defeat.

Daryl turned on his heel and ran as the gate swung closed, separating the two Dixons. He could hear Merle's yells of curses and pleas but it fell on deaf ears. His focus had narrowed again, back to where Rick and Glenn and Carl stood with Fox supported between them but when Daryl arrived he slung his crossbow over his back and took her from them gratefully and cradled her in his arms.

"Come on, Maggie's just down the hill." Rick urged. They ran as fast as they could go trying not jar Fox as much as possible, snow crunching beneath their shoes as they ducked into the darkness of the trees, moving down a steady slope until they came to a bend in the narrow path that snaked up towards the base, and around that bend waiting on a very narrow turn off was the Jeep. Rick and the others ran ahead and pulled the door open and then slid out of the way as much as possible. Daryl laid Fox inside and then climbed in after, pulling her to an almost upright position against him to make room for Glenn and Carl who pressed into the back seat as well as Rick climbed into the front seat. Maggie was already cranking the engine and pulling back onto the road.

"Is everybody ok?" she asked as she struggled to go as fast as she could but not slip on the very icy road.

"We're ok but Fox is hurt bad. We need to get her to Benjamin as soon as possible." Rick panted. He wiped a bunch of sweat and blood off of his face with the back of his arm and twisted into the front seat, pulling his radio out of his belt. He signaled for Benjamin who picked up almost immediately, the radios crackling and his voice tense with fear.

"Benjamin, I need you to get all of your supplies ready. Fox is injured, severe lacerations on her wrists and face, looks like she was beaten within an inch of her life." Every word was like an ice pick in Daryl's brain as he did his best to adjust Fox against him so she didn't bounce and flinch so much as Maggie took the perilous mountain road as fast as conditions would allow.

"Got it. Are we staying at the cabin or are we pulling out?"

"Staying. Nobody's following us and Fox is too badly hurt to move much more."

"Copy that." The radio went silent and as they continued moving down the mountain Daryl became aware that Fox's wrists were still leaking blood despite having removed the cuffs. Glenn noticed too and without saying a word he pulled off his jacket and jerked on the sleeves of his undershirt, cutting them away with a small knife from his belt. Daryl watched him with wide eyes he very gently took first one and then the other of Fox's wrists and tied the strips of cloth around them to try and stem the flow of blood.

"Thank you." Daryl murmured, low and choked in his throat. He could barely speak, barely even breathe and Glenn just nodded, and turned his gaze back to Fox's bleeding, mangled body.

"She'll fight, Daryl. She won't give in." he whispered.

Maggie went as fast as she could down the mountain and Daryl cradled Fox against his chest, repeatedly stroking her hair, keeping one hand entwined with hers, his palm always feeling for her pulse to make sure she was still with him. She was still there, but just barely. Her breath was very shallow and came in weak, faint pulses. He pressed his lips into her bloody hairline and squeezed her hand tightly. He tried to repress the fear but he could barely contain his shaking.

When the car finally came to a halt out at the front of the cabin the doors were already opening even before the wheels stopped. Carl ran and held the door open while Daryl maneuvered Fox out of the car and into his arms. He hurried up the porch, almost slipping on the icy ground in his haste. He was up the porch and into the cabin when Benjy came to greet them.

"In the back, I got the bed set up… Jesus fucking Christ…" he whispered when he saw the mangled state that Fox was in. He collected himself a second later and led them wordlessly into the back room and Daryl very gently laid Fox onto the bed, the sheets turned down and one of the lanterns lit on the bedside table, and immediately Benjy set to work.

"Here, help me get her out of her clothes, she soaked." Benjy urged. Daryl helped him strip her down to her bra and underwear and that was when he almost collapsed.

Her normally pale skin was completely covered in black, blue, and purple bruises. The tattoo on her front was now a molten of so many dark colors he could barely see the design anymore. There was hardly a piece of her that wasn't bruised or bleeding in some way, some of the bruises tinged with green and browns suggesting she'd been badly beaten over the course of several days at least.

"Oh God…" Glenn whispered from the door. Rick gripped his upper arm and shook his head. Daryl was standing over the bed looking at the bedraggled form of his love with helpless despair in his eyes. As he took in the sight of her ragged and mangled frame it was as if he could feel the blows coming down on him too and it was almost enough to break him right then.

"Daryl, I need you to leave. I need to work alone, ok?" Benjamin asked softly as he looked up and watched the man very carefully.

"Why? Is she dying?" he demanded, his voice thick and rasped at the same time. He remembered when he was a child and the police and other authorities forced him away from the burning remains of his house, turning him away so he wouldn't be able to see the ashen bones of his mother as they'd pulled her from the wreckage.

"I just need you to go. I'll bring you back as soon as I'm done." Benjamin looked over Daryl's shoulders and met Rick's eyes and Rick nodded. His fingers dug into Daryl's shoulder and began to pull him back. The former sheriff expected Daryl to fight and even try and strike him, but he didn't. Instead he allowed himself to be pulled away. It was as if all of the fight and strength brought on by the anger had evaporated and now he was just barely able to stand up. Glenn shut the door as Rick carefully guided Daryl out and back into the living room. He forced him to sit down while Carl picked up Judith from her little box and carried her in his arms.

"I can't…I…she…Rick…if she dies…I…" Daryl could barely breathe. He rocked back and forth at the edge of his chair, his body beginning to shake. An icy cold had settled over his skin and he wrapped his arms around himself even as he rocked back and forth, unable to sit still and contain the desperate energy ripping through him. He was trying so hard to shake the pictures in his head but he couldn't make it stop. Rick's eyes flashed with concern and he quickly looked up at Maggie.

"Go get one of the blankets," he urged before he pulled Daryl to sit on the couch so Rick could get closer to him. When Maggie hurried back with one of the blankets he took it from her and threw it on Daryl's shoulders as the chattering of his teeth continued. He recognized the signs of impending psychological shock. Now that the battle was over, now that there was nothing he could do but wait, he could see the man beginning to unravel. There was only so much he could do, but he had to do everything in his power to keep him together.

"She's here. She's with us. Benjamin is doing everything he can. She's in the best hands that she can be right now. And I know you're exhausted. I know you're shaken. But you have to hang on for just a little bit longer. Just a little big longer, it'll be ok Daryl, I swear it."

Daryl was still rocking back and forth on the edge of the couch. His brain was sparking in fits and starts, memories playing in his mind, the echoes of Fox's screaming rattling in his skull, the sight of her bruised and bloodied body stabbing in through his eyes. He ducked his head into his hands and continued rocking, letting out a strangled cry of barely suppressed insanity as the memories built and built, flashing like a movie screen inside his brain, faster and faster until they were tangled blurs of muddy colors but all of them tinged with blood or the softest touch of warmth and comfort being ripped away by the steely edge of a knife.

"Shit, is he ok…?" Glenn panted as he stood up from his chair and edged away from Daryl as the man's moans began to get louder.

"Go get Benjamin, ask him if we can give him anything, go, now!" Rick urged as he put one hand on Daryl's back and the other on his wrist. Daryl heard the man speaking but the words were faint whispers that he didn't really comprehend.

"Daryl, hang in there brother, its ok. She's safe now. You're safe, so is she. We all are. It's ok." He tried to comfort the man but Daryl's shaking only grew more intense causing Rick's arm to tremble violently.

Glenn came running back within another moment. He held a syringe in his hand and nodded to Rick, passing it to the cop behind Daryl's back.

"He said give it to him, the whole thing." Glenn panted.

Rick nodded and pricked the back of Daryl's neck and injected him with whatever was in the syringe. Almost immediately Daryl began to still. His rocking stopped and he began to go limp. He almost fell forward until Rick caught him and hauled him up onto the couch and stretched him out, Carl quickly moving out of the way with Judith still in his arms.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Carl wondered out loud as Daryl became completely subdued to the effects of the medication, for all intensive purposes unconscious.

"Benjy said it was something to take the edge off, that he'd sleep for about an hour. It's all he can do right now." Glenn answered.

"How soon before we know with Fox?" Rick asked as he paced restlessly.

Glenn didn't answer and Maggie quickly came to him and put her arms around him, tugging him in close. He returned the embrace, pointedly avoiding having to look at Daryl who even though he was unconscious now looked distressed. Rick watched Daryl's limp form on the couch and turned his eyes to Carl and Judith and sent up a very long prayer of thanks his blood had made it out safe, and to any God that was listening if he could throw them a bone this one time and help them out, because otherwise he'd be burying yet another family member, and maybe a second if Daryl lost his mind. He knew how'd close he'd come himself…and already Daryl was coming apart at the seams. He forced away the pictures of a mercy killing of the man who for all intensive purposes was his brother now and pulled Carl close, holding him tightly for balance and stability, refusing to let go for a long, long time.


	43. Chapter 43

_**Ladies and gentlemen, wonderful readers and reviewers, my beloved followers who have been with me for over three months now...we have come to the end. Well, almost. There is still an epilogue, but this is the last official chapter of Wildflower. I am terribly saddened to put this story to rest. It has become without a doubt my most involved, most well known, most important project, maybe that I have ever written in my entire life. I could not have done it without each and every one of you who read, favorited, subscribed, followed me, reviewed, and of course, spread the word of this story. There are so many of you (440 reviews to be exact, before the ones for this final chapter and the epilogue come in) and I am just overwhelmed every single time I think of it. You guys have inspired in me in ways I never thought was possible. I was, and still am, completely blown away by the responses from all of you. I just can't even begin to describe what this experience has been like for me as a writer, and even as a person. I love you all so much. There will be some special acknowledgements at the end of the epilogue but let me just say that EVERY single one of you has meant the world to me, and I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Truly you mean everything to me. And now, my beautiful shining stars, its time for the end. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I love you all.**_

**_P.S. Just to make it official, there IS a sequel to Wildflower in the works as we speak. It will be a little while before its posted, but the magic has already begun, and I hope I see you all there, I think it might even surpass what I've managed to do here, but I'll let you be the judge ;)_**

**Emberka-2012**: _Well, Merle now finally lost the only person close to him. He could help his brother, but he decided to do as he was more comfortable. He had not expected such a desperate behavior from Daryl. You make so worry about the characters, as for real people. Poor Fox. And Daryl in a terrible state. At least they are together and they are free. That's all they need for their recovery._

Indeed, Merle definitely wasn't expecting such behavior out of Daryl. He has a hard time comprehending that Daryl could care about anyone the way he cares about Fox. But for the moment, they are together, and we shall see if Fox will recover, or if the ultimate price will be paid….

**WinterIsComing01**: _Cheezus. Wow. You REALLY fucked Fox up although I couldn't help but think to myself how gnarly her scars on her face will be when they heal - I don't think they will mar her prettiness at all but instead just make her even more interesting to look at. I digress. The way Daryl killed Philip...wow. That was possibly the most brutal thing I've ever read. Ripping out his brain and stomping it under his boot? *gags* Dear Lord. Now...I don't wish death on any of our heroes but I have to admit that it WOULD be interesting if Fox did die and to see what would happen to the group dynamic at that point. I'm sort of evil in that way. I don't really mean that. :-) So proud that Daryl gave Merle the boot. I honestly expected him to bring Merle along. I didn't think he would really sever the ties, but he did, and I was happy for it. Well, Benjy's hard at work on Fox to make sure she lives. I honestly don't know how she could but I'm sure he'll find a way. I assume she's going to be out of the fight from here on out though, because those wounds are going to take a long. time. to heal. Poor girl. She's a fighter though, she didn't break, not really, and she held on. Very admirable._

Yeah, the wounds on her face are really gnarly. Deep and all the way across the left side of her face. Its definitely something that will take getting used to, but they are definitely battle scars, no doubt about it. Really, I managed to gross you out? Awesome! I never feel as though my gore is gorey enough you know? Cause TWD has had some serious stomach churning moments, so I'm glad I could compete, at least for a moment! You know, the dynamic in the group changing if Fox were to die…I've teethed around with it for a while. I think they all would be really rattled; Daryl would just be gone…you think Rick's crazy train in the show after Lori died was bad, I think that would be a cakewalk to what would happen to Daryl's mental state. Rick wouldn't be doing so hot either, although in a much different way. Every member of the group means so much to all of them, that I think losing anybody else could be a tipping point for anybody. Mm, there was no way that Daryl was going to let Merle come into the fold, not after having been held down by him while Philip hacked open Fox's face, never mind it was Merle who actually beat her within an inch of her life. But Merle's not quite out of the game just yet… ;) If Fox is anything, she's a fighter, and I think she'd be quite happy to have that be the impression she leaves people with if she dies, and I'm glad that's the impression she's leaving with my wonderful readers =D

**arrowsandkittens**: _Oh my God. Oh my God. I don't have the words. I just hope everything turns out well. I'm going to have an emotional breakdown in the last chapter. Would you consider continuing this fic, like having sequels or making a story with Daryl and Fox as if the ZA never happen? I just can't force myself to think this will all be over soon :( , and THANK YOU for uploading this is such a short time!_

I definitely still have plans for Fox, Daryl, Rick, the group, as well as other fan favs like Michonne, so its safe to say that there is a sequel in the works. When Wildflower is finished I'll be taking a brief interlude from TWD to work in the Boondock Saints fandom (so excited, that story is already in the works, so if you're interested, by all means as soon as its posted, go check it out!) and once that story is finished, I'll return to TWD and all our beloved charries. As to a fic with Daryl and Fox if the ZA never happened…I've thought about it, and I might do a one-shot or two and see what the reaction is, but its definitely not off the table. I know what you mean, I can't believe that its coming to an end, but you guys have made this story so much more than I could have ever hoped.

**FanFicGirl10**: _Finally! I'm so happy Daryl and the others got there and saved Fox. Well damn Merle, how dare he keep Daryl from Fox? I like that Daryl let Merle have his truth, but i do have a feeling we will see more of Merle he won't give up that easily. Aww Daryl having a panic attack, but i do think one Fox is healed, up, and talking he will be back to normal or as normal as he can be. Haha Phillip is dead that bastard got his! Good chapter, Update Soon!_

Mmm, Merle definitely miscalculated Daryl's determination to bring Fox home safe and how much she means to him, and he's paid a very dear price, but you're right, he won't give up so easily, and so you'll get to see a little bit more of him before this is all said and done. Yes, Daryl and his mental break down, they used to call it shell shock or battle fatigue, people react to trauma and stressors in different ways and honestly after everything that's happened its understandable. And Philip certainly did get his, damn did he get his, but it was well deserved.

**Brittney**: _Freaking Amazing! I am utterly speechless. I have spent the last two days reading your story and I love it! I really think this is the first story to portray Daryl correctly. I hope Fox/Dahlia pulls through and I can't wait to see Daryl's reaction when he finds put Merle was the one to hurt his girl. Keep up the good work!_

Awwww yay! I worked really really hard to try and make sure Daryl and everyone was in character and it seems to have paid off, even right up to the end and I'm so thrilled and pleased by that. =D There is another round of Merle/Daryl conflict to be had before all is said and done and I hope I do everything justice. Thanks for writing in!

* * *

When Daryl woke he shot straight up from the couch, his limbs twisting up in the blanket. He jerked and thrashed and all but strangled himself, actually falling off the couch in his struggle to escape.

"Daryl! Daryl it's ok!" Rick's voice was firm and insistent, his hands tangling into the blanket, pulling it off of Daryl to free his limbs. "Daryl, it's alright! You're ok, you're safe."

The hunter ceased thrashing and stared up at Rick with wide unseeing eyes at first. But slowly, the recognition came back. His hands fisted into the collar of Rick's shirt, pulling the man down towards him for a second before loosening up. He staggered forward and finally got his feet underneath him. His head spun like he'd had three or four too many shots and Rick steadied him before he could collapse again.

"Hey, sit down, you're not all there yet." Rick advised, gently pushing on his shoulder until Daryl sank back onto the couch. His head had begun to pound and his body ached terribly. He picked up the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders again, despite still wearing his jacket he was feeling cold.

"Anything?" he asked, clearly not needing to explain what he meant to Rick. His wide-eyed hungry gaze said it all.

"No…nothing…" he trailed off just as Benjamin came out from the back room. Daryl immediately got up to his feet as Benjy approached.

"You need to sit down." He advised, slowly approaching him and bringing a chair from the kitchen so he could be at eye level with him as they talked.

"Is she dead?" Daryl choked. "Is she dead?" he demanded again, his voice getting louder.

"No." Benjamin murmured softly. "No Daryl, she's not dead. She's alive. But only just."

"What…what does that mean?" Daryl rasped, tearing his fingers through his hair and then staring up at the medic.

Benjamin took a long breath in, glancing at Rick for a split second before turning back to Daryl. "I've done everything I can do. Three of her ribs are cracked, she tore a tendon in her shoulder blade, and many of her organs are bruised as well as the flesh. It hurts her to breathe because they badly bruised her diaphragm and the muscles in her upper back. She's lost a lot of blood, the cuffs came just shy of slicing the main arteries in her wrists. I think if we'd been another hour or two, we would have been too late." He paused and felt his stomach twist and tighten as he struggled to look Daryl in the face. "The wounds on her face are extensive. I've cleaned and stitched them so they shouldn't be infected but…those scars will never fully heal. She will have them for the rest of her life."

Daryl's head reeled. He remembered clearly the awful wounds tracing the left side of her face, it was as if she'd been mauled by a mountain lion's claws. His breath hitched and he struggled to comprehend that he'd never again be able to see her face without the reminder of what had happened to her, without looking at what his failure had caused. At the moment he'd never been so ashamed or so disgusted in himself.

"It wasn't your fault, Daryl." Benjamin murmured softly. "You and everybody else, you did everything you could do. Everything that can be done is being done. I think all of us have had enough of the anger and the pain and the blood. There will always be more of that down the road, but right now she needs you to be here for her."

Daryl managed to look up into his hazel eyes and very slowly, he found himself in agreement. There would be time to sort out everything else. What was more important now was that he do what he could for her in any way that she needed.

"Is she awake?" he managed to ask. "Can I see her?"

Benjamin paused for a moment, gathering his words very carefully. "She's still out. You can see her when I'm done. But you need to know that if she doesn't wake up soon, I don't think she ever will, and then it will only be a matter of time before she…comes back."

Daryl's shoulders seized, knotting up beneath his clothes. "How long?" he rasped. He could barely force the words out.

The medic shifted uncomfortably. He knew the truth of his words but he hated to deliver it to the man who was looking up at him with such desperation and pain, every single syllable looked like it was another blow to the head. "If she's not awake by dawn…she won't wake. She's lost so much blood and I'm fairly certain they deprived her of food and sleep. The shock from her injuries might be too much. We'll know in a few hours. Now you can come and stay with her, and since I don't have an EKG machine to monitor her heart, I need you to keep your hand on her pulse to make sure she doesn't arrest. If you start to doze off, call me, I'll take over."

Daryl got up from his chair and followed Benjy into the back room. When he came through the threshold it was so hard to take seeing her lying there limp and helpless it was almost enough to make him lose the strength in his knees all over again. But he didn't. He kicked off his shoes and slid to the other side of the bed with her and very gingerly positioned himself against her, one hand snaking through her hair to lightly find where her pulse beat in her neck and he couldn't deny the way he felt a thrum of relief when he felt it against his fingertips.

Benjy retreated but after several minutes he was back with a large metal bowl and a wash cloth. He set it on the bed and Daryl could feel that the water had been heated.

"I figured you could clean her up. That'd it'd be better if you did." He said softly.

Daryl nodded. It was his place and no one else's to see her so torn to pieces like this. He could not speak, but his gratefulness for what Benjamin had done was in his eyes. He picked up the rag and ringing it out so it didn't drip too much before he set about the painstaking task of peeling off the layers of blood and grime from her skin.

"Daryl, you should know, when I was checking her over, I…I made sure that…" he stammered, obviously nervous about what he was trying to say, his New York accent getting thick on his tongue. He took a long breath in and steadied his hands as Daryl looked up at him. "They didn't rape her, at least not that I could tell."

All Daryl could do was blink his eyes. He couldn't respond. He turned his gaze away and went back to his work with a silent determination, but his hands moved with the same soft gentleness he used whenever he cared for Judith. When Benjamin retreated he shut the door with a quiet click and went back into the front room.

"Is he ok?" Rick asked, getting up from his seat when Benjamin approached.

"For now." Benjamin said heavily. He sank down onto one of the chairs and let the heels of his hand press into his eyes, his messy hair falling into his face.

"What, what's wrong?" Glenn questioned.

"Her odds are bad. Really bad. And even if she does live, she can't travel for a long time, muscles in her upper back are so badly beaten that she won't even be able to sit up for days, let alone walk. And we're what, five miles from the men who did this to her? And we're just supposed to stay here and wait for them to swoop down on us?" His voice was shaking by the time he was done.

"They won't come after us." Rick assured him quietly. "Daryl killed the man that did this to her, and the one that let us go…he's insane. There was something in his eyes, it was really off. But he got what he wanted, I think he'll be preoccupied now. And he seems to be the one in charge. He told the guards to stand down when we were leaving."

"So the sample, you traded it for her release?" Benjamin asked.

"The guy in charge, pretty sure he's a doctor of some kind, he had Daryl's brother at gunpoint and said hand it over or he'd kill him. Daryl wouldn't have it. He took us to the gate and made sure we were all backed out and then traded the sample for Merle's life."

"I'm assuming he didn't come back with you…but I had thought he would…" Maggie spoke softly as she took a seat beside Glenn on the couch.

"Daryl didn't want him to." Rick murmured. "I don't know what went down there in those cells. Daryl was supposed to have been out with Fox to meet us but he hadn't shown and there was nothing on the radio. We found our way down to the cells because we heard the screaming. First Fox and then Daryl…" Rick ran a tired hand through his hair and glanced worriedly at Carl before looking back up at Benjamin. "I think whatever happened to Fox, Merle had a hand in it. I think that's part of the reason why Daryl almost cracked…" he trailed off quietly.

"Well shit, can you imagine? Remember when he first came to camp? Him and Merle were attached at the hip. Now he's torturing his girlfriend." Glenn said heavily. "But still…what Daryl did to that man…I've never seen anything like it." His skin nearly tinged green with just the memory alone.

"It's over for now." Rick murmured softly. He leaned back against the couch and Carl came up and sat up next to him and passed him Judith who shifted a little in her blankets as Rick tucked in her into his chest. He rocked her very slowly and tried to start the process of blocking out the details of the horror that they'd just escaped from. "It's over for now." He said again, mostly just to himself.

In the back room Daryl was still working on his meticulous care over Fox. He gently took the rag and stroked it over her face to slowly wash away the blood from her skin, and as more of the scarlet stains were cleaned away, he could see the full extent of the bruising. She barely looked anything like the woman he loved, but all he could think of was how she had been just before he'd lost her. Burning bright like a shooting star streaking for the earth, her lips on his edged and sharp and so completely her it had stunned him long enough to let her slip out of his grip.

"I shouldn't have let you go." He whispered. "I'm so sorry, Dahlia. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let go, I should have followed, I came as quickly as I could. It's over now, the man who did this is dead. I killed him and he'll never get to you again. But I'm so sorry." He choked on his own words, tears leaking from his eyes again as he ducked his head over her, his lips pressed into her messy hair as he shuddered over her. "I'm so sorry. I came for you, now you can't let go. You can't, I need you here with me. You have to stay here with me. Don't go. Not when I just found you."

He said all of the things he'd have been to afraid or to ashamed to admit before. It was just the two of them and nobody was there to see or hear and he dropped every guard. He told her of the conflict with Merle and how he hated to have pushed him away so much. Yes he'd been so cold and cruel and perhaps had sentenced him to death by trapping him in that dark place, but he couldn't live like that anymore. "He doesn't own me anymore, and he would have never let me go, so I walked away. I chose you over him. I did. I did and I don't even feel bad about it anymore because even though Merle cares in his own twisted, fucked up way, he's just bad for me. But you're not. You showed me all the things I wanted to be and thought I never had in me to actually be. All those things I thought I couldn't be, you brought it out of me. I only feel bad that he couldn't just stop being such a shit head and grow the fuck up. He doesn't have to be the way he is, he chooses it."

He continued gently cleaning her skin, very occasionally seeing pale patches but most of it was hidden by bruises. As the night wore on he wiped away more and more blood which had soaked into her through her clothes, concentrated strongly on her shoulders and chest from where it had run down her wrists.

"You said you knew I was yours the first time we locked eyes at the quarry, the first time that I chased you away into the woods. I tried to say in that cave in New York that I didn't belong to anybody. That was bullshit if I'd ever heard it before. I used to belong to Merle. He's messed up, no denying that…but he was there. There in the way that you'd rather have something burn you than feel nothing. I guess that's why I always felt so unsteady doing things on my own, cause I couldn't check it with him if it was ok. But then he was gone…and you were there. And I figured things out for myself, I figured out the kind of man I wanted to be…could be… and you stood by me. I never could figure out why. Rick and the others…they're good people, but even they don't see in me what you do. And you were right, Dahlia. I do belong to you. You had a helluva way to prove it." He remembered the aching press of her kiss in that fire warmed cave as she'd torn him clean open with her tongue and left him gasping in a way that none of her kisses ever had before, or since. "But that's just you. When I first met you, I couldn't stand you. You out maneuvered me at every turn, sometimes I think just cause you thought it was funny to see me frustrated, and when I tried to get away, you got in my way and threw all my bullshit back in my face. I couldn't scare you away and at first I couldn't understand why you persisted with me. But it doesn't matter now. I belong to you, and you belong to me. I'll never let you go." He fell silent and continued to gently sweep away the remaining blood from her skin.

He didn't know how much time had passed but he could still feel the beating pulse of her heart against his fingertips and so he held on through the night. He knew time was ticking down, he knew the logistics, but there was nothing in him that could make him let go. Not now.

"I'll die here before I leave you now." He whispered just before dawn. He set the bowl and rag aside on the floor and laid next to her, slowly, very slowly, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her close, still keeping his fingers on her pulse. He tucked his nose into her neck and kissed her skin and let his free hand stroke her hair over and over again. "But if you go I will follow you."

"No you won't."

He started and she winced as his movement jostled her. Very slowly her one eye fluttered open and she looked up at him, the ruined corner of her mouth twitching. "What was it you said to me before? Don't stop on my account. I was enjoying what you had to say."

He looked down at her and felt his heart stutter and thud in an off cycle rhythm against his chest. "How long have you been awake?" It was all he could get out of his mouth. His brain was sparking with disbelief and incomprehension that this could really be happening. That she could really be awake and still with him. Not gone some place that he could only follow in death.

"Somewhere around you were telling me that Merle's bad for you." She murmured. She inhaled and winced again and he stilled, lightly pulling his hand away from her neck.

"Are you ok, do you need me to go get Benjy?" he asked.

She managed to shake her head but she was still wincing as she exhaled. "No, stay. Don't go." She whispered. She tried to wrap her fingers around his but her hand hurt too much so he did it for her, curling his fingers with hers.

"Dahlia…I'm so sorry." He whispered into her hair. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"Why?" she asked him very quietly looking up into his eyes. "Do not grieve. It's over now. You came for me."

"I shouldn't have let you go. Before at the battle, I shouldn't have let go, they wouldn't have taken you…this wouldn't have happened…" he trailed off, unable to continue.

"Daryl I gave myself up to save you and the rest. I knew they had come for me. I knew at the shootout in New York they had come for me. Or at the very least I had suspected. I wasn't going to let you or the others get killed." Her voice was thin, but there was more strength to it than he expected her to have.

"If you knew it was dangerous, why didn't you give it back to Rick? After New York, why?" he asked, still stroking her hair, moving his fingers very gently, combing back the messy strands so he could better see her face.

She smiled as much as the stitches and the bruises would allow. "Cause I love you. And Rick. And the group. And I kept safe what he could not bare to hold. He was in no condition to handle that after New York, right after Lori died? No way. That is how I show my love, Daryl. I take from others what they cannot bare." She spoke so simply, like it was the easiest, most obvious answer in the world, but without judgment or expectation.

"Don't ever do this to me again. Please. I can't take it." He spoke into her hair, pulling her closer as gently as he could. "I really can't."

She puffed a breath against his collarbone, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. "I won't if I can help it." She murmured. She looked up into his eyes, wishing she could see him more clearly but the cobalt color was still bright and blazing and burned with heat and fire for her. Right now it was just a spark, but she knew as she grew stronger so would that light, and it was enough. She was content to speak only with her eyes but he wasn't.

"I love you." He murmured. He pressed his lips against hers very lightly, feeling the chapped and cracked skin but she pressed back with as much strength as she could muster and he knew then that she would heal.

"I love you too." She whispered before she rested her head on his chest and sank back down into a warm darkness that was filled with his heat and smell and she was content to stay this way forever.

The sun was rising and she had drifted back to sleep by the time someone came knocking at the door. It was Benjamin, entering in very cautiously. Daryl sat up slowly, doing his best not to move Fox even as she slept.

"She woke up a little while ago. She's out again, but I think she's gonna be ok." He said. He looked up at the medic and couldn't stop the relieved smile that twitched with his mouth. "Thank you."

Benjy nodded. "When her IV runs dry come find me and I'll give her more." He was grinning too and in a relieved motion pushed his hair away from his face and then slowly backed away and shut the door.

When he came back out into the living room, the faces of those waiting on his answer were so tensed and worried that he didn't have the heart to tease them or hold out any longer.

"She came to. He's still with her and she's not really out of the woods yet, but I think for the moment, the danger's passed."

Rick's face broke into a thankful expression of happiness and release that it was almost enough to make Benjamin teary eyed. Glenn let out a long breath and cracked a smile too, squeezing Maggie's hand tightly as they leaned into each other. Carl smiled too, his most genuine for a very long time and held onto Judith, rocking her slowly as the pale sunlight from the rising sun filtered into the room.

* * *

Recovery was long and slow. It was a full week before she could sit up on her own, and another three days before she could stand up on her own. She almost had to retrain herself how to walk, and the muscles in her shoulders and arms hadn't healed enough to support her if she tried to hold herself up, so whenever she moved someone had to be there just in case. It drove her mad that she wasn't able to do anything for herself and by the end of the second week she was all but chomping at the bit. But almost every morning she woke up violently ill, throwing up and shaking, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes as Daryl gently rubbed her back and held her hair. She said it was from bad dreams making her sick but she wouldn't say what they were about.

The days drifted by almost like a dream, but as with any dream, they were forced to wake up. Daryl was in the house with Fox, stretched out on the couch with her leaning against him while Carl walked around with Judith in his arms. Glenn and Rick had gone for a sweep of the surrounding territory, as they did three times a day to make sure nothing unwanted was coming up, or down, the hill. When the door front door cracked open and heavy boots moved against the floor Daryl turned. Something about the step was off.

"Daryl. You need to come outside." Rick told him. His eyes were a mixture of tempered steely and his voice was on edge. Glenn was pale and almost shaking. Daryl's eyes narrowed sharply.

"What, what's going on?" he asked.

"Just come outside." Rick said. He retreated with a sharp step and Daryl turned to Fox who looked up at him.

"I'll be fine. Go see what he wants." She urged.

"Yell if you need me." He told her before gently kissing her hairline. He readjusted her against the couch now that he was no longer there to support her, picked up his bow, and followed Rick out the door. The man was waiting for him just off the porch and took him down the road that they had used to come here by. When they reached the blacktop, Rick stopped and put a hand on Daryl's shoulder.

"I don't know what happened down there in those cells. But you'll regret it if you leave it like this." It was all he said before he let him go and stepped aside.

There standing on the black top was Merle. He looked about as haggard as Daryl had ever seen him, eyes red and bloodshot, shoulders almost shaking from the chill in the air, the prosthetic on his arm missing it's knife.

"I told you to stay away from me!" Daryl snarled.

"Come on Daryl don't do this! You and me, we're blood, and there is nothing that's gonna change that! I came down here to talk peace, so don't go getting your panties in a twist alright!" Merle spat. His eyes were hard but Daryl could still see the threat of shatter there.

"I ain't got nothing to say to you!" Daryl growled, waving his crossbow dangerously close in Merle's direction.

"Come on, Daryl, we're brothers man…you're just gonna walk away like that, after everything we've been through…you can't fucking do that!" Merle growled. He stalked towards Daryl, cutting his eyes at Rick who remained motionless about five feet back, but his hand was on his revolver just in case.

"Go on Merle! Get out of here!" Daryl spat, kicking his feet at him like he would spurn a mangy dog off his porch. "Go on! Get!"

"I came here to fucking talk to you! To try and work something out for once!" Merle pleaded.

"Listen to me you dumbass, I ain't got nothing to say to you! Everything that happened back in that base fucking says it all!" he spat. "You let that psycho rip her face open! She's mauled, Merle! What was it they said in the military, when guys were so mangled that you couldn't even recognize them anymore? FUBAR. Fucked up beyond all recognition! You stood by and fucking let that happen to her, after you knew what she meant to me! God only knows what else she went through down there!"

"Daryl I kept you from getting shot you fucking spoiled brat!" Merle snarled, stalking forward towards his brother. They began to pace like wild tomcats squaring up for a duel in an ally. Rick kept his distance but always with the hand on his gun, just in case. He preferred to let the brothers settle everything once and for all, but not at the cost of bloodshed, or at least not of the cost of Daryl's bloodshed.

Daryl paused, his free hand curling into a fist. "So what if he would have shot me? What if he had killed her and I made it back alive? It wouldn't have been worth it!"

"Oh don't give me that sad sap Titanic shit now!" Merle scoffed. "She's a woman and she's with you, I get that, but get real."

"No you don't fucking get it!" Daryl howled. He was close enough now that he shoved Merle in the chest, pushing him away. "You don't fucking get it and you never fucking will cause you haven't changed! We all got ways of dealing with what happened when we were kids. You smoke and brawl and fuck cheap whores and never come home. I skin squirrels and aim my bow at anybody that gets too close. Fine. But she's different, Merle, and she's made me different, and I know she fucking told you that she was with me! So even though you knew, you knew what she meant to me, you went ahead and let all of that happen to her. Well fuck you and anything you have to say!" he kicked his boots at the man again.

"If I'd of heard it from you it would have been different!" Merle howled at last as Daryl turned to walk away.

Daryl twisted his shoulders and turned back around to stare at his older brother with hard, unyielding eyes. "Would it have? If you'd of heard it from me, would it have made a damn bit of difference?"

"Yes! For all I knew she could have been saying she was with you just to save her own fucking skin!" Merle snapped. "Brother, if I'd of really known what she meant to ya, I never would of…"

"Would have what? Beat her so hard she nearly died? She still can't walk without help!" Rick tensed. He hadn't known that. None of them had known who it was that had beat Fox within an inch of her life but apparently it had been Merle. She must have told Daryl in private.

Merle lowered his slightly raised arms and let his lone hand unfurl from its clenched position. "Daryl…little brother…I'm sorry. I'm here askin' for fucking forgiveness, and you know that's something I never fucking do, no matter what Ma tried to drum into us as kids. I did what I had to do. If I would have gone against Philip he'd of thrown me to the biters or fucking shot me himself. I didn't do any of this to hurt you."

Daryl stiffened at his brother's words. He'd never in his life heard Merle talk like this. He'd been exposed to their mother's religious teachings longer than he had by virtue of being the oldest, but he'd never let any of that show until now apparently. He'd never heard his brother apologize or accept responsibility for what he'd done. He didn't know what to make of it. He didn't know if Merle was saying what he thought Daryl wanted to hear or if he really meant it, or if it was some combination of the two.

Daryl turned on his heel and went to Rick. The man loosened his touch on his revolver and met his second in command with a knowing gaze.

"I'ma talk with him alone. I'll be back." The hunter murmured.

"Be careful." Rick advised softly.

Daryl nodded. "Tell Fox where I went." He added before he turned to go. Daryl tilted his head at his brother and beckoned him to walk down the black top with him. Merle followed closely and he tried to put an arm around Daryl's shoulders and tow him in just like he used to, but Daryl stepped carefully out of reach. They walked together in silence until they'd gone down about a quarter of a mile and had twisted around the bend so there was no chance Rick could see them. Daryl parked himself onto a large boulder on the shoulder of the road and pulled out his pack of smokes and lit one up, taking a deep drag, enjoying the rush of smoke and chemicals hitting his lungs.

"Not even gonna offer me one?" Merle asked, his eyes glancing hungrily at the stick of tobacco and nicotine.

Daryl flipped his lighter closed. "Nope." He muttered, blowing smoke from his mouth and nose, pointedly making sure to hit Merle in the face with it.

"You know you only started smoking to fit in with me and the boys I used to run around with." Merle accused hotly.

Daryl shrugged. "So? Still got the taste for it. That don't change just cause all your friends are dead now." He blew another stream free and looked hard at his brother. "What you did, Merle…I can't ever forget it. No matter what the reason. You beat the woman I loved into a fucked up mess that looked worse than any piece of road kill I've ever seen."

"Oh come on, Daryl, she's alive ain't she?" Merle scoffed, sitting himself on another boulder near his brother. "You should be thanking me. I coulda hit her a lot harder."

"Fuck you." Daryl snarled, his teeth showing as he flicked a bit of ash towards his brother. "She could of died and as it is, that psycho tore her fucking face open. So even when the bruises heal, I'll still have to look at what happened to her. She'll have to look at it." He sucked down another pull of smoke and held it into his lungs until it burned before exhaling.

"You can't honestly expect me to believe you love her, Daryl. You don't even know what love is." Merle muttered, running a tired hand over his short clipped hair towards the base of his neck. Daryl looked up at him with cold calculations written all over his face.

"And you do?" he growled, smoke spilling from between his teeth as he did so. He spat out the taste of ash on the snow near his boots but took another drag anyway.

"I know it ain't worth getting all crazy and acting like a fucking banshee, that's for sure." Merle muttered. "I saw what you did to Philip. That was fucking sick little brother." He paused for a moment and tilted his head. "Shouldn't let a little bit of pussy go to your head like that. There's a reason why I never had me a ball and chain."

"Get something through your fucking head. She ain't just a warm place to stick my dick, asshole. She fucking means something to me, something you can't ever understand cause your brain is all melted down by the fucking crank you smoked all those years." His lips twisted into a snarled expression but he calmed himself at his next words. "She ain't a ball and chain either. You are." Daryl muttered. "That's all you ever did, Merle. You sank me down into the same fucked up place you were. Are."

"This is pointless." Merle huffed, getting off the rock and turning to face Daryl head on. "We're blood me and you. It was always us before this. I pulled you out of the fire, I took care of you as best as I fucking knew how. You're gonna hold the mistakes of a drugged up teenager against me? You're a grown fucking man now, Daryl, get over it." Merle kicked a clump of snow at his feet and spat at the ground as well, staring at his little brother with an expectant look.

"Yeah, you're right. This is pointless." Daryl agreed. He got off the boulder and took his last drag on the cigarette. He blew the smoke right in his brother's face before dropping the butt and crushing it beneath his shoe. He stared up at Merle with an expression that could only be described as broken. Broken but resolved.

"We are blood, Merle. Nothing is ever gonna change that. Sometimes I wish there was a way to change it. I guess it means more to you now than it does to me cause you've been with psychos and strangers this whole time. I went back for you in Atlanta and you weren't there, and when we took off to New York, it was about survival, same as whatever you say you've done all this time. But the people I'm with, Fox, they're my family now. My blood."

"They ain't blood, Daryl!" Merle snarled. His fingers closed on a little switchblade in his pocket and flicked the blade open. He snapped his wrist and his calloused fingers grabbed Daryl by the arm and drew the switchblade across it, creating a shallow cut. A few drops of scarlet fluid drained away and Merle swept his thumb across it and held it up for Daryl to see.

"Your blood ain't the same as theirs! Never has been, never will be!" he growled.

Daryl pulled his arm back away from his brother. "It doesn't matter!" he spat. "Merle…Jesus H Christ, it's over, ok! I'm not going with you! And you're not staying here." His voice was cracking. All he wanted now was to go, to escape from this situation. Now that there was no heat of battle, he was having a much harder time than he ever thought he would to push Merle away.

"Daryl…don't do this." Merle urged, seeing the sadness in his brother's voice. "Come on little brother. Let's go back up the road and we'll talk to officer Friendly up there and we'll work something out. It can be done. Shit, if everything else we've had to go through can work out, this can too."

"Yeah, we are gonna go back up the road, and we are gonna talk some more, but not to Rick. You're gonna talk to Fox." He growled. He jerked his head and picked up his bow and walked back up the black top.

"If you think I'm gonna grovel on my knees to that bitch…" he snarled. Daryl whirled and cracked Merle across the jaw with the back of his hand, dragging his knuckles as much as he could. Not expecting the blow Merle's head snapped around and he staggered back a step.

"I've fucking had enough of you and your mouth. You shut the fuck up about her. After everything you did to her, she's owed an ending, and you're gonna fucking give it to her. She won't hurt you, she physically can't, but I can. And I will." His voice had dropped to that low, splintering, iced tone that he had used back at the base when he had held him at the point of his bow.

"Fine. But don't expect me to be happy about it." Merle spat. Daryl didn't respond, he just led him up the hill, but it was as he was doing so that he saw the truck that Merle had used to come by here. His older brother went to the vehicle and retrieved something from inside. Daryl recognized it immediately.

"Fox's belt." He murmured softly as Merle approached him.

"They had it stashed in the armory. After you all left I went down and found it." He shrugged as he went to hand it to Daryl who did not accept.

"No. You give it to her." He told him. He led him back up the road to the front porch of the cabin where Rick was waiting. He tensed when he saw Merle and got up out of the chair he'd been resting in. He signaled Merle to wait and the hunter approached Rick.

"Him and Fox are gonna talk. And then he's out of here." Daryl told him. The sheriff nodded and Daryl went back into the cabin. Fox was still reclined on the couch but when she heard Daryl come inside she struggled to try and get up.

"Easy, I got you." He murmured. "Merle has something for you." He said quietly. He laced his arms underneath Fox's and pulled her up against his chest and let her lean on him until she was steady on her feet.

"I have something for him too." She growled quietly. Daryl nodded and helped her walk outside, a thrum of worry going through him every time she winced with pain or stiffness. He helped her down the front porch of the cabin and stood about five feet back from Merle.

"Long time no see Foxy." Merle drawled, his veneer of disdain firmly in place.

"Get your greasy paws off my belt. Give it to me." She growled. Merle approached slowly and held the belt of knives out to her. She stretched out her hand and took it from him but she had used her weak arm and her hand barely had the strength to hold it up. Daryl's hand reached and caught the trailing portion before it could hit the ground. He tried to take it from her so she didn't have to stress her arm but she refused, holding onto it with a death grip. She limped towards Merle, closely accompanied by Daryl so she didn't fall.

"There are many things I'd like to do to you, Merle. A great many of them would have you screaming so loud you'd shatter your own eardrums." She snarled. "Just ask Rick if I'm actually capable of something like that. I tore Shane's face open with one of these knives, and I'd do it to you too if I didn't love Daryl enough to resist the impulse." Merle opened his mouth to try and retort but she cut him off very quickly. "Others might think you ill or crazy, but I think you're just a coward. And I have no respect for anybody who pretends to be something that they're not. You come off badass and tough and uncaring, but that's total bullshit. You would have killed me if it meant you could keep Daryl all to yourself. The only reason you didn't was because you ran out of time."

"It could have been a lot worse." Merle muttered. "A lot fucking worse."

"Lets string you up and beat you within an inch of your life and see how you like it. Forget the fact you stood by and watched when Philip tore my face open." She pushed away from Daryl and stood as upright as her bandaged back and torn shoulder would allow and limped towards Merle who began to look away as she came closer and the mangled twisted mess of the left side of her face grew clearer and clearer.

"You're Daryl's brother. You always will be. And therefore you enjoy protection from me. But I will not lift a single finger to help you if anything should befall you, not unless Daryl asks. And I can't imagine he would. You're lucky I can barely stand as it is. Because if I was back to my old self…this would not be going over so quietly."

"Well aren't you just a little spitfire." Merle drawled.

Fox snickered. "You have no idea. In another life you'd of sidled up to me in a bar and groped me and I would have kicked your nuts in so hard you'd be lucky to ever get them out of your gut." She shifted and stood up as much as her injured body would allow. "As it is, I'll have to settle for knowing that despite everything you did to me, I lived. I lived and I'm the one who Daryl went to hell and back for. Can you say the same?" She stared at him long and hard and curled her lips into a vicious, merciless smirk and then turned, gripping Daryl's shoulder hard.

"Here, I'll bring her inside." Rick said. He gently slid his shoulders underneath Fox's good arm and wrapped his other hand around her waist to help hold her steady. It was a different hold than Daryl used on her, but it was good, and she trusted him. She let him lead her in side, his slender frame surprisingly strong when he more or less lifted her entirely up the stairs. When she was safely inside Daryl turned back to his brother.

"You're really gonna send me away?" Merle asked him quietly.

Daryl nudged the ground with the toe of his boot and it was almost worth it to him to light another cigarette, but he didn't. Instead he sighed very deeply and looked his brother in the face.

"We're blood Merle. That will never change. But you don't belong here. And I don't belong to you anymore. So go. Before I make you." His fingers squeezed his crossbow but remained on the trigger guard.

"Where are you going after this?" he asked.

Daryl fixed him with a steely look. "Don't know. Don't care. But it wasn't like I'd tell you anyway."

Merle shrugged in response. "I don't fancy hanging around that psycho doctor much longer, so when the thaw hits, I'll probably head back down south. Back to Georgia."

"Back to home?" Daryl asked quietly. He remembered the place all too well, he could find it in his sleep if he had too.

Merle's mouth twitched. "Come and find out for yourself little brother." He turned and headed for the truck and Daryl stood on the porch for a while watching him go. Something was roiling in his chest and he jogged quickly off the porch and followed his brother to the truck.

"Take care of yourself." His eyes flicked down to his disabled arm and then back up to his eyes.

Merle tilted his head. "You too." Everything he would have ever needed to say was in his eyes. All of the pain, the regret, the anger, the disappointment, and the bond that they shared by virtue of the blood that ran the same in both their veins.

Daryl watched him drive off and for a while the ache in his chest was so powerful he almost chased after him. He stood there frozen and motionless, trying to understand what had happened, from the moment they'd separated, to right now, when they were splitting again, and it killed him so deeply to know he probably would never see his brother again. He never liked thinking that anything was the last time. But at least he knew…he knew where he would go. It had never really been a question though. If Daryl wasn't with him, there was only one place Merle could go. Back to their home in the hills of Georgia. The home they had abandoned when the dead came crawling out of their graves to kill them all. Daryl had no doubt that he would make it, that he would reclaim it. Really the only thing that could kill Merle was Merle himself. And he was also the only one that could have killed their relationship, and he had. Because he'd never be able to look at Fox without seeing the scars of Merle's selfishness, and it would always be a reminder of his brother's rigidity. The world had ended and Daryl had been completely overhauled, but Merle had remained the same. He stood for a long time out on that blacktop, just staring out at the road that eventually the sun set and the darkness came to creep against his skin. He didn't realize how cold or how stiff he was, nor did he realize his face was stinging from the tracks of many tears, until he heard footsteps behind him. The crunch of boots on gritty rock caused him to wipe his face and suck down a long breath, deciding that he might as well have that cigarette anyway. He pulled it out and lit it and when he was sure he was steady turned and faced Rick.

"You did the right thing." The sheriff said quietly. "I know it wasn't easy, but it was the right thing."

"Is that what you tell yourself about Shane?" he asked. He didn't mean to sound as cold as he did, and he was grateful when Rick's expression didn't harden.

"Yes. And ironically enough, the person who makes it all easier is the same for both of us." Rick answered.

Daryl took another drag on the cigarette. "Just FYI, I know you think about her like that." He muttered. "That you wish she was with you sometimes."

Rick rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Its easy to get confused when there's not a lot left to hold onto." He said. His voice was soft with both honesty and a plea for understanding.

Daryl nodded and took the last drag on the cigarette before flicking the butt away. He let out the mouthful of smoke and tilted his head towards the house. "I know." He murmured. But as they walked back together, what he'd really said, what they had really said to each other in that one gaze, was very clear.

_I trust you. With everything. _

_I trust you too_

* * *

The days went by with tension as they waited for the other shoe to drop from the base up the mountain, but nothing ever came. No retaliation, not even a search party. It was as if they were dead to the world. They hadn't seen a Walker since moving into these hills and by the second week Daryl had managed to find a deer, their first in months. A month into their stay and Fox had become much more vocal about her demands to be allowed to do things for herself. Four weeks after being freed from the base, and two weeks after Merle's visit, and she could get up on her own and walk around for a little ways but it was never very long before the pain grew to be too much. She still spent most of her time confined to the bed but it was getting harder to hold her there.

"Please, for the love of God, I think I am capable of going to the kitchen myself!" she whined one evening as Daryl yet again blocked her ability to lift herself off the mattress.

"You wouldn't be able to win a fight with a ferret if your life depended on it." Daryl chuckled. "I'll get you something to eat, just stay put!" he added, lilting his voice with a little bit of authority as he made to leave the room again.

"Hey, could you send Benjamin in on your way?" she asked as she very gingerly pushed back on her good arm. The shoulder that had torn was healing well according to Benjamin, but it would take a long time before she'd be able to fight with it the way she had before. She couldn't wait for the day that she could reacquaint herself with her knives.

"Why, what's wrong?" Daryl asked, his tone urgent now.

"I wanted to ask him about the cuts. They're itching like mad, I want to see what he's got in his bag of tricks that might help."

The bruises on her face had all but healed except for the slightest tinge of faint discoloration. Benjamin had taken the stitches out of the cuts two weeks ago and though they were healing well, it was abundantly clear that the scars from them would be prominent. She was still getting used to seeing them on her face whenever she came in contact with a mirror or other reflective surface. She looked as though she'd been mauled by a really pissed off mountain lion. The wounds themselves hurt on a daily basis but the pain was ever so slowly decreasing as the days went by. When she'd first seen them, the shock hadn't been so much the marring of her face, but the fact that she could barely remember what she looked like without them; it had been so long since she'd seen a mirror, and so now whenever she caught sight of herself it was a little shock to her system. But at the present moment she fixed her eyes on Daryl, waiting for him to answer.

"Alright, I'll send him." He chuckled quietly and left the room. He'd been getting a massive kick out of her being helpless to his every whim since normally she was so resistant to being helped and more than once she had soundly told him to fuck off at his amusement that she had to have help for almost everything she did. But only recently had she been putting up a fight. In the first few days she'd allowed him to tend to her every twitch without fuss or complaint, because even she hadn't know whether she really would be ok again. But as the days had worn on and her strength had come back she'd become more like her old self again.

Benjamin came into the room with his medic bag and shot her an amused expression. "Daryl says something about needing something for your face?" he asked as he came into the room carrying his bag. At first the subject of her scars had been very touchy and no one was really sure how to handle it, but Fox had assured them that her self-confidence wasn't going to take a nose dive just because the left side of her face was mangled. The wounds were battle scars, just like the marks on her shoulder and arm from the wolf bites. They were proof of how much she had fought for the ones she loved. They were nothing to be ashamed of. The rest of the group had been relieved to hear that message loud and clear from her, but Daryl still had a hard time adjusting to it; he still hadn't managed to completely let go of his anger. Most times he just chose not to speak on it.

"Mmhm. Close the door will you?" she asked.

He shut it behind him but now he was a little suspicious. "What is it?" he asked softly as he came and sat on the bed with her, beginning to pull her hair back so he could examine her cuts and check to see if they were healing but she pulled back a little bit.

"I need to talk to you about something else." She said softly. Her face grew much more concerned and now he sat up straighter, giving her his full attention. She took a long deep breath in and slowly moved through her explanation about what Jenner had told her down in the cell. He listened intently, his eyes going a bit wide. When she finished he ran his fingers through his hair again and let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"It's not my specialty, but I think you're right. Everything that I know about it points in that direction." He ran his hand through his messy hair and met her eyes steadily, pointedly focusing on the bright color of her irises and not the scars. "I can help you…handle it…if you want me to. Its your choice, but you should decide soon."

She smiled slightly, the ruined corner of her mouth twitching upwards. "I did decide, a long time ago." She murmured, and it was clear from her expression what she meant.

He looked at her long and hard for a long time. "Did you want me to tell the group…?" he trailed off softly, still meeting her eyes.

She shook her head vigorously. "No. I will. But not now." She heard footsteps coming from the hall and shot him a quick look. The message was clear. Don't say anything. To anybody. He understood her desire for privacy and even though it was something the group needed to know, it could wait for a little while until she was ready.

Fox spent another three days keeping her secret until she could walk for a little ways with Daryl at her side. She'd convinced him to take her out for a short stroll through their little sanctuary close to dusk. The air had begun to warm as spring grew closer and though there was still snow on the ground it was beginning to melt and expose many of the green needles of the conifer trees. He held her by the arm like a true Southern gentleman at which she could only laugh and he merely rolled his eyes at when she did.

"How long do you think before we can go?" she asked softly as he led her through a trail he had found through the trees, the one he used when he went to hunt. The sun had turned to soft gold as it filtered through the canopy of trees over head, casting their surroundings in a pale amber shade of light on the surface of the melting snow and the deep green of the pine needles around them.

"When you're back up to speed again." He answered calmly. She'd been pestering him about this for days now but he wasn't willing to really give an answer, because nobody really knew how long it would be that she would need until she was back at her full strength and ready to live on the road again. They all knew, despite the sanctuary of these mountains, that they couldn't stay here. It was too close to the base, and eventually, they knew that someone would come for them. They were taking advantage of the shelter they had right at this moment, but they knew it couldn't last. No one could stand living under the shadow of the base for forever.

She nodded, deciding not to press him about it. She had something else to say that was far more important. "Daryl, I need to tell you something." She spoke softly, sliding her hand from his arm down to his hand and curled her fingers through his. He turned to her and looked down into her face. The twist of his stomach every time he saw the scars was becoming less each time. She seemed unperturbed by them even going so far as to be in some ways proud of the wounds. Her green eyes were bright and very deep and she twitched her lips into an almost nervous expression.

"What is it?" he asked. Apprehension coiled in his belly; she almost looked afraid to tell him whatever it was she was hiding. Had one of her injuries become more complicated?

She took a long deep breath in, breathing through the soft thrum of pain that inhaling had caused. The internal bruising was healing slowly, but those long breaths still caused her to twinge. But she needed it. She squeezed his hand tightly and gazed up into those cobalt blue eyes that she loved so dearly. Anxiety hummed through her but she pushed it away. She loved him and he loved her. That was all that mattered.

"There's no soft way to say it, so I won't bother trying." The look he afforded her told of his curiosity, and his worry was mounting. She squeezed his hand tightly in hers, bracing both of them one final time. "I'm pregnant."

The world around him seemed to go blurry. All of the details faded out, sounds grew dim, and all he could focus on was the echo of her words in his mind. At first he thought he might be dreaming, but then he felt her squeeze his hand hard and his eyes blinked, and he found her eyes, and they hit him with such razor sharp clarity he knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was real. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what that meant. Only the smallest bits of information could filter through his brain.

"When?" It was barely a choked out sound.

She let out a soft breath as she answered. "The night at the school. Was the only time…" she trailed off quietly.

"You're sure?" he asked. His voice was a soft rasp in his throat as he still struggled to let what she'd said sink into his brain.

She nodded. "At the base. The psycho doctor Jenner did blood work on me and told me. And then I thought…" she shivered again and pressed closer to him. "I thought maybe from the beatings I'd lost it. But since I've been here, I missed my period and I've had other symptoms too. Benjamin agrees, I asked him about it three days ago, but I waited to say anything until I knew for sure I hadn't lost it." She squeezed his hand again. "That's why I've been throwing up. Not bad dreams, morning sickness."

Daryl leaned back against a nearby tree for a minute before sinking down to the ground. Fox joined him, moving gingerly as she did so, but it hurt a lot less than it used to. She sat down next to him and pressed her side against his. He was silent for a long time and she let him process everything for as long as he needed, just staying close by, letting him come to when he was ready. She'd had a month to get used to this idea, he'd had a couple minutes. She didn't know what thoughts might be running through him. She never in her life thought she'd be having this conversation with him, or any man for that matter, but here it was, and all she wanted now was to hear what he had to say. But she'd be patient, just as he had been with her so many other times.

"Do you want the baby?" he asked finally. He remembered all too well what had happened to Lori. It made his stomach roll in all kinds of uncomfortable ways. It was against everything in him to end a life before it had even had a chance to live…but could he really force her into having a child she didn't want? That she was scared to have because it would risk her life? Could he really ask that of her? He hadn't made up his mind by the time she answered, but she held his gaze the entire time, and there was nothing there but trust and love and wonderment.

"When Jenner first told me I was so scared. If I ever made it out of there alive…after seeing what happened to Lori…" she trailed off for a minute, steadying the slight tremor in her voice. "I didn't want to die, I didn't want to leave you with that weight. I see what Rick struggles with and thank God he has Carl because if he didn't I don't know if he'd be able to take it, and I would never want you to suffer like that, or worse. Daryl, in that one moment I'd never despaired so much or cried so hard. I couldn't believe that I'd been that careless, that I'd risked that much, that I'd put myself, you, and the group, in such a dangerous position. At first I couldn't even breathe."

He looked at her with a question and she curled her fingers around his tightly again, pressing her arm against his, enjoying the body heat between them for a long moment. "But then I realized what it all meant. I realized that I had a life in me. A life that's apart of you." She paused and looked up at him, the scars on her face glinting in the face of the setting sun, but her eyes were misty with unshed tears. "I know how hard your childhood was. I've seen the scars and the hurt in you, but I've watched you become so much more than all of that. I told you once before, you're the only one who has managed to become more human in a world that has tried so hard to take away that quality from the rest of us. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you'll pass that onto your child. He or she is apart of you, and will carry that with them, and I could never destroy that. And what's more, I don't want to. Once I realized that, I'd never wanted anything more than to be able to have this baby and give you your son or daughter. Cause he or she is half of me and half of you, and he or she deserves it. After everything we've been through, we all deserve it. The three of us."

She looked up at him and he looked down at her. "Do you want the baby?" she asked him softly.

He sucked in a long breath and bent his head down to kiss the crown of her head, inhaling her spicy woodsy smell that after so long had finally returned. And surrounded in her heat and the almost frozen beauty of the world around him he answered.

"Of course I do. Didn't know it until you told me, but do you think I'd ever not want my flesh and blood?" He exhaled again and his grip on her hand tightened. "If I'm honest, I'm scared for you. We both know what happened to Lori. And if you…" his throat tightened as he recalled flashbacks of that horrible scene, Lori a tangled mess of limp, bloodstained skin, Rick's wails and Carl's tears as Benjamin had frantically passed him a life that had taken one of their own. He drowned it out as best as he could when he breathed in again and opened his eyes, looking down at her. "if I lost you I…you wouldn't have to worry about the kid. I'd be there for them. Not like Rick was…I'd be there. Cause it's a part of you too, and I won't let anything happen to our kid. But I don't believe that you would have survived all of this just to die like that. I can't." He breathed in her smell, nuzzling her hair and her scarred cheek and gently kissed the wounds, the flesh rough and knotted beneath his lips. She shivered at the touch, still not used to the feeling, much the same way he did when she touched the scars on his back. She pulled back after a moment so she could look up into his eyes. She could see the depth there, like the deep, never ending expanse of the sky in summer past midnight, when the air was cool but echoed with the traces of heat from the previous day, when the night was like the embrace of a lover and she could lose herself forever and never have to hurt again. She stayed like that with him for a long time, reveling in what she'd found herself blessed with, wondering how she had ever come to deserve it, and how he had become the man that he had in the relatively short time she'd known him. She had flashbacks of her own, the brutal Georgia sun in high summer on the plateau of a quarry beating down on them as the smell of death and blood lingered on the air. There had been work to do, graves to dig, bodies to bury, heavy, heavy words to say. She remembered seeing him leaning against his bike, the sun turning his skin to gold and lighting up his eyes like sapphires set to burn in a blacksmith's fire. He had been so resistant, so determined to push her away, to not become apart of a group that would save his life. And yet she had waited patiently for him to come, knowing that he would, somewhere in her understanding that he belonged to her, and she to him, and they both belonged to the group, and that she need only be patient. It was in those quiet moments she hadn't been afraid to claim, and to be claimed. It was when all of the thoughts crowded her skull that she had doubted. But nevermore. She smiled up at him and kissed him gently again before speaking, deciding not to voice all of the things in her mind yet. She would have a chance later. Right now she would back down from the seriousness and let him enjoy the bubbling happiness spreading over him that he couldn't help but let crawl across his face. When she spoke her voice was light and playful and just a little teasing.

"Can you even imagine what this kid is going to be like? A combo of you and me? Stubborn to the extreme, a penchant for violence, perceptive, and independent? There will be no living with them." Fox laughed quietly, ignoring the way her chest still gave a twinge from doing so. She leaned up against his shoulder and chest and he automatically lifted his arm and then towed her into his side very gently. She looked up at him and kissed the underside of his jaw and he looked down at her, threading his fingers into her hair and pushing it away from her face. "What do you want to have?" he asked.

"I'd be happy with either. A boy cause then he'll be just like you except not so damn prickly." He looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow and she smirked and he tilted his head in the slightest amount of agreement. "Or a girl cause then she'll be twice the bad-ass I ever was, cause we'll teach her how from when she's born, she won't have to figure it out all on her own." She looked up at him and squeezed his fingers. "What about you? What do you want?"

"Are you kidding? Friggin girl of course. Boys ain't nothing but trouble." He said with a soft huff of laughter. His second hand stroked over her shoulder and lightly down her side. "You thought about names?"

She nodded. "Mmhm." Her skin flushed and he was surprised to see it. It was very rare she was ever shy about anything, especially in front of him. He encouraged her with his eyes and she went on after a few moments.

"If it's a boy, Daryl Michael-Dale Dixon." She looked up at him and he twitched his lips with a mixture of approval and shyness of his own.

"And if it's a girl, Luna Carol-Cherie Dixon." Now her eyes asked him a question and he shifted a little bit against her.

"Luna?" he asked softly, rolling the name on his tongue. She took her time before she answered, gathering the words she had prepared to say when she knew he'd ask her his question.

"I wanted something that reminded me of you, regardless whether it's a boy or a girl. You are the moon in my long, long night, Daryl. You give me light, cool and soft and guiding instead of the heated oppressive push by the sun. Sometimes your tricky and mysterious and you deepen the shadows in one place while you chase them out in another. But always your there, you guide me through the darkest parts of myself. You always have. Even all those months ago when I was so afraid to trust and to let my guard down and to believe that I could be apart of the group. You didn't force, you didn't shove, but you lit up my dark sky." She turned her face up to him and she saw the pain in his eyes when he looked at her scars. She took his fingers and gently ran them across the marks and she watched his jaw tighten and his eyes grow hard. She took his fingertips and kissed them softly before returning his hand to her hair. His expression began to soften he smiled down at her, kissing her lips gently before he wrapped both arms around her and held her close.

"Good names." He responded softly. "But I think that means you need my last name."

She twitched her mouth into a smile. "I have your name, Daryl. I always have. And I always will."

He remained quiet and held her against him, letting his hand trace down to her belly, his palm resting above the life in her that was apart of him. He knew the risks, he'd seen what had become of Lori. But he couldn't be afraid. Not now. Not in the quiet of the moment when the only thing he could hear was the sound of her breath and the occasional birdsong and the softest touch of the wind through the trees. It was almost as if the world had never ended and the war they still faced was actually gone and he'd found a paradise where in his arms he had everything he had ever wanted. And for a while, as the sun set over the mountains in the distance and the moon rose high into the sky she began to hum quietly, he could believe in the heaven that for so long had only been a fairytale teasing him. Now it was reality, and it was so fragile it was made of the thinnest threads of glass, but in some ways, it was harder and stronger than any diamond ever found, and burned with white fire that he would never lose sight of. He was brought back down to reality again when the words he hadn't heard in so long slipped from her lips on the frosty mountain air. And as he listened to her, he let her soothe him and remind him of how far they had come and the promise between the two of them that held more value to him than anything else he had ever known.

"There's nothing else to say. Nothing else to know. You have the last of me. You have what remains of the world I once knew. Just like I have you. Twisted chains of red and gold, you hold me close and now I know. Now I know, I'm not alone. I have the last of you, safe inside myself, inside my soul, in the silver light from the pale ivory moon."

**_A/N: As you've probably noticed, music is a huge influence on me. All the lyrics I've had Fox write have been my own creation, but there were two songs in particular that really helped me shaped the way I wrote this story, one from what would be Fox's perspective, and one from Daryl's. I will leave you from what I think are the most potent lines from the two and let you decide whose is whose ;)_**

**_"Fire from the tongues of liars... clinging to your youthful truth...you'll find that you've nothing to lose. You'll find that you've nothing to prove."~ Fire Fire- Flyleaf_**

**_"And all my bones began to shake, my eyes flew open. No more dreaming of the dead as if death itself was undone..."~ Blinding- Florence + The Machine_**


	44. Epilogue

_**My beloved friends, we have come to the end. The very last portion of Wildflower is below and once you have reached the end, the back cover of the proverbial book closes and the tale will be laid to rest. I can't even really begin to describe what it feels like to me as an author. I've grown so deeply attached to this story and all its characters and its plot and the feelings and the world in which they live...it is almost impossible for me to think about not getting up every single day and working on this story, be it editing or writing or changing something or replying to your wonderful reviews. It saddens me deeply to be finished, but there is a bright dawn breaking off in the distance, as I have promised you a sequel, and I am incredibly excited to bring that to you all. You all have meant so much to me over the time spent working on this story. Its by far the longest work I've ever done, definitely the most involved, and I really couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. I could have never done this without all of you at my side supporting me. AND speaking of said support, I ask a favor of you. Bare in mind, my fingers are shaking as I type this BUT I will not let that stop me. Now that we have reached the end of Wildflower it is FINALLY time to put this to the ultimate test. I mean of course, sending the link for this story to the people who work for the Walking Dead, not the least of whom are the actors, but also the producers and creators (particularly Robert Kirkman.) So I ask you my beloved readers, reviewers, followers, incredibly loyal army of support at my side, send this story to them! Blow up Twitter, Facebook, any other social media you can think of, where this story might reach the team who is responsible for bringing us The Walking Dead, and if any of you know how to get in touch with Kirkman, tell me! So many of you have said "we want to see Fox on the show" or that this story is on par with the actual show itself or that they simply just need to see this story. Well, you all have convinced me to do it, so now, I ask your help. Help me make my dream come true, even if it is just acknowledgement by someone at TWD that I exist and that this story exists. Also, if any of you want to follow me on Twitter (and thereby be able to tag your posts with the link for this story with me in them) my name is alotlikefalling and it would mean the weight of the world to me if you helped me out with this. It has been a dream of mine for going on 8 years now to be discovered as an author, and you never know, this could be my shot. So help me out guys! We can make this happen! And who knows, with enough persistence and drive, you could one day see a sharp tempered, knife throwing red-head stalking her way through the scenes of The Walking Dead with her green eyes on our favorite redneck. A wise man once said ask and you shall receive...you have asked and now you can help us all receive. And now it is time, one last time, to post the kind words you have left me with, and my replies to them. **_

**arrowsandkittens**: _After I finished reading this I had to take a moment. This story is the best story I have ever read in here. I am sorry I found out about it so late, but I don't regret reading it all night and not being able to get up in the morning. I became attached to Fox and I cared for her. I can only imagine how perfectly she would fit the show, because she is such a well-developed character. I'm glad it's not completely over, that there's still a bit more to it. Thank you for sharing this with us, it just proves wrong to everyone who claims that fanfic doesn't require talent and imagination. This story brightened my bad days. It made me laugh and cry in a way I never thought a simple fic could. I hope you get recongnized for creating something this good. I hope more people read this. "Come to kill me? You look like the executioner type"_

No worries its all good! I'm so happy when anybody comes to my fic and loves what they find, no matter what stage of the process its in. I would have been just as thrilled had you found this story 6 months after its completion. I know exactly what its like to stay up all night devouring a wonderful story and I'm so honored and thrilled that something I wrote could have that kind of pull for you. I've grown so attached to Fox too…I'm really sad to end this story actually! You're not the first to say she'd be great for the show, and for the first time when I was watching "Arrow On The Doorpost" I had that feeling too! I kept waiting for her to come ducking out from around the warehouse or abandon buildings, and then of course when Daryl flung his knife I had a squeal of joy cause that's something Fox would do…yeah, I'm getting carried away…. There is indeed the epilogue, so there's just a bit more, and there IS a sequel in the works, so be on the lookout for that =D That is just astounding to me that my work can make people laugh and cry and feel all of these things that I tried so hard to bring out and just hoped that I could. I write what I would want to read and so I'm glad I made it worth it. Awww, that quote, you went all the way back to the beginning to find it. I'm so pleased I cannot stop grinning. Thank you for everything you've written in your reviews, it means the world to me!

**FanFicGirl10**:_ Ok this whole chapter was AMAZING! I LOVED it, i cried at the wonderful things Daryl was saying to Fox :) Yay Fox is up and getting better, plus she's having a Daryl Dixon Baby, I hope it's a boy. Yeah I love that both Daryl and Dahlia let Merle has the ugly truth, he's not worth it to be around them. I can't say it enough i LOVED this chapter, Update Soon!_

Awww you cried!? Wow! I mean I was kind of sniffling when I went back and re-read it doing the editing process, and honestly, I was about to gut the whole thing and change it, but I'm so glad I stopped myself. I felt like at the end of everything, finally, after all this time, Daryl could find let go and be vulnerable and show how much he cares, and so now I'm glad I left it in. Mmm, we shall see whether there will be a little Daryl jr. running around in 9 months time. Fox and Daryl definitely did let Merle have it…there really was no question about its after everything that had happened, but it was still really painful for Daryl to watch him go. Having had to cut ties with family members myself…I know how rough it can be, but it was for the best. Thank you for staying with me from beginning to end!

**NIGHTSCREAM**: _HA! Called it she's pregnant! Dang but that confontation scene was tense! And Daryl cutting his face and then ripping it open yikes! Your a bloodthirsty writer arn't you, remind me not to ever piss you off!_

You and a few other readers my friend ;) It was tense, wasn't it? I had hoped it would be, because on both sides emotions were running really high and that was honestly what I had pictured to happen in the show when they finally met, and even though it took a little longer, I tried to do the brothers justice, given the circumstances off my story. Ohhh yes, I can be quite bloodthirsty and creative with what happens to people who cross me, but don't worry, it all remains within the safety of ink to paper, but inventing new ways to ax villains is one of my favorite pass times xD But never fear, you've been a cool late addition to my readers and reviewers, so you will always be safe from my bloodthirsty tendencies.

**Emerald Gaze**: _I knew she was pregnant! also i totally think the flyleaf song is from daryl's perspective and blinding for fox. Oh this is so excitinf! I'm really lookin forward to the sequal and i can't wait to see the reaction of the group when they here and i admit i kinda wish merle could know she's pregnant and hav to suffer through knowing he lost even more of his blood than he thought and almost put an end to 1 himself. I have to say i'm really surprised the pregnancy didnt terminate in all that but it looks like all of her is resiliant and stubborn. Plus now daryl gets a blood relative to replace the bad blood hes lost!_!_

That's awesome, lots are being cast on whose song is whose =D My friend, you are not the only one looking forward to it. I've been thinking about it for more than a month now, starting to plan it all out and figure out the details and little intricacies and I absolutely cannot wait to bring it to you! Your comment about Merle…I really debated on rearranging the chapter to let him in on it, but in the end I decided not to. The timeline would have just crunched and I don't think I could have made the ending as sound otherwise, but don't worry, we haven't seen the last of Merle, not by a long shot ;) You know, in reality, the pregnancy probably would have terminated after everything Fox went through BUT I decided to cut them a break FOR ONCE and let them have their moment. They deserved it after everything they've had to go through. And yes indeed, Daryl does have a replacement for Merle, but even more than that…its blood that will love him unconditionally and that's really all he's wanted this whole time, and now he's found it, not in just the baby, but in Fox, and from the entire group. They won't always come out and say it, but he feels it, and that's why he'd die to protect them if he had to. Blood isn't just the fluid running in our veins, its the loyalty and trust of the ones who have your back, and it wasn't just Daryl who got to learn that, but Fox too.

**Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End**:_ Ahhh I'm so behind on reviews! So sorry! YES I KNEW SHE WAS PREGNANT YEAAAHHHH. Okay I'm normal again. Awesome chapter, I'm glad Daryl didn't give into anything his brother was saying! Way to go Daryl! Btw, when I read the two songs at the bottom, it was epic because Fire Fire was playing on my iPod haha, yay flyleaf! Haha anyway keep up the awesome work! :D_

No worries it's all good! Hah, you and several others, I tried to drop hints without spelling it out, so I figured some of you, if not all, would get it =D Mm, it was tempting at times for Daryl to relent, because Merle is his brother and for so many years it was just the two of them against the world, and even though their dynamic was so destructive and painful, when its the only thing you've known, and what you've been taught to accept, its hard to let it go. Hah! Yes! I LOVE it when the iPod plays the exact right song for the moment. I can never write without music, so I have to have the right song going for the right scene, and so that coincidence for you was pretty epic in my opinion. Good way to wrap it up, no? If you liked this story (which it seems fairly obvious you did xD) be on the lookout for the sequel! I hope to make it just as involved and crazy and all things awesome like the Walking Dead, and I dearly hope to see the familiar pen-names of my beloved readers there, you included =D

**Emberka-2012**:_ Just as I thought. Fox strong and stubborn. She'll be all right. And they will have little Dixon. Pity that Merle does not know what he was about to kill his nephew or niece. Maybe someday he finds and Fox told each other very beautiful things._

Mmhm, Fox is indeed strong, stubborn, and unwilling to back down or give up. She is indeed carrying a little Dixon, boy neither her or Daryl are ready for that yet, but they will be with time =) As I said in a previous review reply, I am working on a sequel for this story, so definitely don't count Merle out, not by a long shot ;) I almost yanked most of those fluffy moments between Fox and Daryl in this chapter but I figured because it was the last one that it was time finally for them to lay everything out on the table and be completely emotionally open with each other, and so I'm glad it came off in a good way. Thank you so much for every single review you've given to me, from beginning down to the very end, it means the world to me to have such loyal followers like you stick with me. I hope I see you at the sequel!

**Brittney**: _Loved thus chapter (and all the others obviously). I love the names for Fox and Daryl's baby! I can't wait for more..._

Yay, I'm so glad! I never ever get tired of hearing that my chapters are liked, or loved is even better! Awesome! I'm so glad that the names seem to be coming off well received, because trust me, I went through so many different possibility, especially for the girl's. There's just the epilogue left for Wildflower, but the sequel is not far away and I hope I see you there!

**forfaithshelost459**: _Is the epilogue gonna be Luna (great Harry Potter name, btw) all grown up and badass? Then she has to face her parents dying and the group? Then she has to live all on her own? And wrap all that up in a nutshell for the epilogue... then the sequel goes into great detail? God, I cried. Time to make picturesssss! I just... omg. I can't believe it's over. Time to tweet Norman Reedus! *deep breath* Good Lord..._

Hah, you know, Luna in HP was actually one of my fav characters, but that wasn't where her name came from. When I was searching for names, I sank deep down into Fox's psyche and the way she sees her relationship with Daryl, from the very beginning to the very end and the two of them reminded me of yin and yang so strongly, Fox being the yang which is associated with the sun and Daryl being the yin, which is associated with the night, and as I thought about their personalities and their varying actions, I kept finding myself drawn to that idea, and since Luna is a feminine form of the word 'lunar' for the moon, it just made sense to me. And then of course the middle names on both sides were combinations of people that both Fox and Daryl had lost that they cared for. You shall see what the epilogue holds my friend…and of course the sequel, which is coming soon but probably not soon enough! Oh good effing gracious you have NO idea how scared/excited/nervous/amazed/freakedthefuckout I am about tweeting Reedus. Like seriously…I get serious chills EVERY SINGLE TIME I THINK ABOUT IT. BUT it is going to fucking happen. There are a few mistakes that I wanna fix, just typos and stuff, and then its time to send the link…FRICK AM I SCARED AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHYYYYY. Ok…I'll get a hold of myself now. You've been an awesome reader and reviewer (offering to do fan art for me, seriously, that is so flipping awesome!) and I can't wait to see you at the sequel!

**WinterIsComing01**: _Wow! What an ending. I had a sneaking suspicion that Fox was in the family way but the "throwing up every morning" bit solidified that for me. I'm so happy we have a happy ending! And now we'll have a little Foxy Dixon hopping around soon enough. Can't wait for the epilogue. The ending definitely made up for all the pain and angst you threw our way for 42 g*ddamn chapters (you bitch!). I'm really looking forward to the epilogue. I'd love to see what has become of the group by that point, and of course, looking forward to Wildflower part deux. Well done, dearest friend! Bravo!_

Mmm, I'm sure most people had that suspicion, but I didn't wanna outright say it until the very end ;) I knew that after all of the craziness and angst and emotional roller coaster this fic has been that I wanted the ending to be happy and there to be hope for the future, because really without it, there is no surviving a zombie apocalypse. Or at least no point in surviving. And I am SO glad that the ending balanced out everything else, cause you are not the only one who is so well aware of all the angst. There were times I was going "damn…maybe that was a little bit much…." but I'm glad everything came out the way it did, I think it was for the best, and I absolutely cannot wait to see you at the sequel, my oh so faithful reader and reviewer 3

**catchmeflying**: _i hate you. but i love you. i hate you for ending this story, i yearn for more. but then again i love you because i felt like i was living as an omnipresent being in this story first hand living through the characters emotions, feelings and actions. this was so well planned and articulated that it was hard not to enjoy every single aspect of the story. i only can draw my own conclusions at this point about Jenner, does he ever succeed? Fox and Daryl and their new child, the rest of the group and their where a bouts and oh, my i want, no i need more of this story. damn you for ending it but i praise your work and skill! better than most novels i've read in my life and i read a lot of stories and novels! Bravo! - Catch me flying_

You know I kind of hate me too for ending it xD But its time. Tales can only go on for so long, but don't worry my friend, there is so much more that will be answered, and asked, in the sequel. I'm already in the process of starting it so it won't be long before you see these guys again. I am so glad I got to take you, and so many others, on the epic roller coaster ride of this story, and I so look forward to seeing as many of you as can be brought along for the ride for the sequel. Thank you for being apart of the ride! I always try to write what it is I'd want to read and so I try to keep my work up to those standards, and if it pleases my readers, that is just more fuel for my fire to keep going and be better and better, and I hope I can surpass what I've done here with the sequel. Drop in and let me know! My deepest thanks for being apart of the story, truly.

* * *

Almost eight months of back breaking work had led up to this. As soon as Fox had been fit to the travel the group had taken off from Colorado and stayed North, following lonely roads and empty highways deep into the wilds of Wyoming, deep into Yellowstone National Park, and day after day of body wrenching, sweat soaked work, they had built a life for themselves. Three small, but sturdy log cabins, a perimeter that was monitored by trick wires and booby traps to ward off animals and Walkers alike (although they'd only seen Walkers a handful of times in these woods, and those had always been far from home), a source of fresh water just down the hill, cover from the air, and a network of caves in the side of the cliffs they were nestled against incase the weather ever got so extreme that their self-built homes couldn't take the beating. As the air had warmed game had flourished, and they'd managed to plant some hardy crops near the river where the ground ran smoother. The work had been hard but so rewarding when they no longer had to risk running towards what remained of civilization for food and water. They were self-sufficient. For almost eight months they had toiled and labored and as the cold of their first winter on the forested cliffs hit hard, they counted themselves grateful for the lockers of cured and salted meats, stores of grinded grains and canned vegetables. The first snow had long since fallen and now it was November, no one knew the date, but they guessed it was somewhere around the fifteenth. They'd learned that keeping track of time was important for them to maintain a semblance of who they had been before. There was no denying that they were all incredibly different since those days at the start of the outbreak. Sometimes they pulled close after dinner, which they always shared together, and they reminisced about life from before. They spoke of times they missed, people that they loved, and there was sadness, but also thankfulness of what they still had, of what they had managed to accomplish despite the entire world out there trying to destroy them.

Judith had grown exponentially under the careful watch of her many parents and her big brother. Not quite a year and already she was close to being able to walk on her own. She hadn't quite discovered her full balance yet, but every day they had to keep a closer and closer eye on her, less she wander off. They'd all formed their own attachments to her, rotating whose turn it was to watch her while the others were in the fields or out hunting or doing other necessary chores to keep their camp in order. It had been great practice for Fox to get used to a baby. She took to it a little apprehensively at first, but with each time it had become easier and easier and Daryl knew that she was anxiously looking forward to when their own child was born, and it seemed now that the day was upon them. Fox, Daryl, and Benjamin were holed up in their bedroom in their cabin, Fox letting out deep grunts of pain and discomfort as her labor wore on as she writhed on the bed that she and Daryl had shared ever since he had built this place with his bare hands and the hands of his friends to help him. His family.

"Sounds like theirs is as much of an ass kicker as Judith ever was." Rick said from the living room from where they could clearly hear Fox's howls as her labor pains increased. The rest of the group, including Carl and Judith, were in the living room, waiting anxiously for the outcome. They remembered Judith's birth all too well and so they couldn't say that there wasn't nervousness. But nobody could speak of it. Nobody could mention it one way or the other. They had guarded against promises they couldn't keep, but always, always, in the very depths of their beings was hope. On the hard days, it was how they survived.

The howls increased as the minutes wore on. The homemade candles were burning down slowly as the group took their turns pacing restlessly around the living room. They felt the emptiness of the members they had lost between then and now and they all pulled in close, playing a casual game of cards or staring at the fire burning in the fire place, watching the logs burn down into embers. The painstakingly installed windows allowed for moonlight to stream in thickly onto the cabin floor, casting half the room in silver and the light from the fire in amber tones. The night wore on and eventually the cries stopped.

Everyone froze at the silence. All their hearts raced, pounding in their throats, waiting anxiously for a sign or signal of what had happened. And then they heard it. The sharp, piercing cry of a newborn. They all let out a long breath, abandoned their cards on the heavy wooden table and stood up, waiting to see what the word was. An untold amount of time passed that couldn't have been very long but felt like years drifted by as they all slowly began to pace back and forth.

Eventually Benjamin emerged. There was sweat on his brow and blood on his gloved hands but a smile on his face. "Come in. No touching, but you can say hello."

They all crowded into the small room and found Fox on her bed, a freshly cleaned newborn wrapped up in a blanket in her arms, tucked against her chest. Sweat slicked her skin, matting pieces of her long hair against her scarred face but she smiled so much that it was hard to even remember that the marks were there. And Daryl was right on the bed beside them, nuzzling Fox's cheek and planting the softest kisses to his newborn's head of dark hair, completely unphased by the crowd of eyes watching.

"Who is this?" Rick asked softly as he beamed down on the new addition. His heart felt as though it might pull apart with both a great amount joy and pain going through him. Pain that Lori wasn't here to experience this, that he hadn't been able to have this same moment with her when Judith was born, but joy that Fox had delivered safely and that the baby was healthy, and that Daryl now had a child of his own after having so carefully devoted himself to taking care of Judith.

"Luna." Fox whispered, her voice still breathless from exhaustion. She leaned back against the pillows that were propped up against the headrest of the bed and closed her eyes, still breathing heavily. Recovering from her injuries while being pregnant had taken its toll on her, but it had been quite some time that her life had been in danger. Daryl had seen to it that she never went hungry, that she never overworked herself, and that she always had everything she needed, or wanted, and under Benjamin's watchful care (along with some help from some handy medical textbooks that they'd risked a run into town for) Rick knew she'd be back on her feet and to her old self within weeks.

"Luna Carol-Cherie Dixon." Daryl crooned. He very gently took his daughter from Fox's arms and held her against his chest, nuzzling her cheek, absolutely glowing.

"I know that this was Andrea's line, but I feel obligated to say it. The illusion has completely shattered." Glenn said, and he tried his best to keep a straight face but it was impossible. He was all but snickering with barely suppressed giggles, right along with Maggie, as he watched Daryl's outpour of affection.

"He has a point. I'm not even sure you are the same Daryl. The Daryl I knew flung squirrels at people for the slightest aggravation." Carl added which brought out a snort of laughter from the others, including Daryl himself.

"What can I say, you people made me go soft." He muttered, but it was with an affectionate undercurrent beneath the pretended growl. Fox laughed but all too soon she was leaning her head back against the pillows and her eyes were closing.

"Alright that's enough for now, everybody can come back in the morning. Shoo, out!" Benjy teased. The medic began to wave them away and they all murmured their promises to be back in the morning before bidding them goodnight. At the door Rick paused and looked over at Daryl and the two men met eyes for a long moment and there was an understanding so like that between brothers for a while Daryl forgot that they had not grown up together. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought of Merle and where he might have been and even now after all this time his heart hurt at the thought of the shattered bonds between him and his blood kin. But then Luna shifted in his arms and began to give soft cries and Fox's eyes fluttered open and he looked around at what he had in that broken bond's place and it was so much more than enough.

Rick retreated from the room and Benjamin did a last once over of the baby and Fox as Luna settled against her mother's chest and began to nurse. Daryl looked up at Benjamin who nodded once.

"I'll be on the couch if you need me." The medic murmured softly before he shut the door behind him. Daryl turned back to Fox and kissed her damp forehead and temple.

"You did good Dahlia. Really good." He whispered into her hair.

She smiled up at him, a little bit of the spark coming back into her green eyes as some of the exhaustion began to ease up.

"You didn't do too bad yourself. But I'm waiting for the day when it's the tenth time she's crying in the middle of the night and it's your turn to get up with her." She teased. Daryl rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Fox's shoulder, keeping her close.

"Bet you a squirrel sandwich that you're the one who starts pulling hair out first." He sassed back, which made her laugh. He ran his fingers through her hair, the dark strands all the way down her shoulders now.

"Speaking of, I think it's time to cut it." She murmured softly.

He could tell by her tone what she meant. Cut the long ends that had faded into a very pale pinkish orange color due to the fact she had no dye to upkeep them.

He tilted his head and looked down at her. "Will you miss it?" he asked quietly. What he was really asking was would it hurt her to let go the last physical piece of herself from Before.

She shook her head. "No." she whispered, bending down to kiss her daughter's head lightly. "It's no longer who I am. I have my memories, and when she's older, I'll sing her the songs I wrote and tell her the stories I've told you. But it's time."

Daryl nodded and leaned his cheek down against her head. He basked in the warmth of his family's glow, deciding not to try and come up with an answer to the question of how or why he found himself in this place. It was enough that he was here, that his family was here, and that at he was at peace, and that the ones he loved more than life itself were at his side with the same soothed feeling, like the warmth of southern summer nights after the harshness of the daily storms were silenced and what was left was the watered seeds for life.

_The End_

* * *

And now onto the special acknowledgements! Over 400 reviews later and this is by far the most attention and most recognition I've ever received for any piece of work I've ever done, and it has been so incredible that I can't even begin to describe what it feels like. All of you, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who read, reviewed, favorited, followed the story, followed me as an author, and favorited me as an author has my love and ever lasting gratitude, because you are all amazing people and I love you so much, and now, there are some very special thanks in order to a few (actually more than a few, and that makes me so happy to say that) in particular:

**WinterIsComing01/WinterIsComing1015**: The first time you reviewed my story, you were entirely disgruntled by Fox (for a very good reason I may add, I didn't start her off as the most lovable of sorts!) and yet slowly but surely you warmed up to her and came to love her and her relationship with Daryl almost as much as I do myself and that to me is incredible, because that was EXACTLY what I wanted to have happen and I'm so glad that you stuck with the story until the end. The excitement and straight up emotion in all of your reviews pleased me to no end and made my Muse squee with happiness every single time I saw one in my inbox waiting for me. My dearest friend, if you EVER need anything, never hesitate to ask. *bows*

**Kaleiburzz**: So my friend, you jumped on at about Chapter 25 and I was immediately blown away by the length and detail of all your reviews. The way you dissected the characters movements and actions and motivations, it was like you were just as involved as I was, and that to me is incredible, because I never thought a reader could be as involved or as obsessed as the writer is, so that is just pure awesomeness, and then you referring my story to someone else…that is the best thing a writer can ask for really, to have their work spread by word of mouth to someone else. At least to me, that is the greatest thing ever. So thank you, thank you so much, and I am looking forward to seeing you at the sequel!

**Emerald Gaze**: By far one of my most loyal followers in this story, your reviews have graced very near every chapter and for that I will never be able to thank you enough. You too gave me insight, more insight than I thought I would get from reviews, and sometimes they made me think about scenes and upcoming details differently, and in my replies I would sometimes find the answers I was looking for, and so you helped me make this story what it is, and for it, I thank you. Your loyalty and attention to detail always brings a smile to my face when I see your reviews waiting for me in my inbox, and so I thank you deeply my friend.

**DancingUnderMoonlight18**: Another of one of my most loyal readers and reviewers (there was never need to apologize for missing chapters, we are all supposed to have lives in the real world after all xD). It became such a joy to see your pen-name come up over and over again in my inbox, it always brought a smile to my face. I love having such a loyal and dedicated following and you're part of all of that, and it means the world to me, it really and truly does. Thank you so much for every word you graced my story with my friend, and I dearly hope you'll christen the sequel in the same way =)

**Jerrie Higarashi**: My friend, oh my friend, going back and reviewing EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER. That in and of itself speaks to your devotion and love of this story. When I read that you intended to go back and re-read AND review every single chapter, it blew me out of the water. I don't recall I've ever had someone do that before, and it was an awesome milestone/accomplishment to have. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, for each and every review, and I look forward to seeing you at the sequel if it should prick your interest ;)

**Emberka-2012**: One of my first reviewers, and without a doubt one of my most loyal. You reviewed every single chapter, and that to me is just incredible. Not always lengthy, but always a solid, accurate, clear eyed recap of what happened, and sometimes a different but still equally true interpretation of what I had written, and so dear friend, I thank you heartily. It was always so pleasing to see your reviews in my inbox time and time again, I love each and every one of them. Thank you so much.

**FanFicGirl10**: Another of my longest running readers and reviewers, I always smiled like crazy whenever I saw your reviews in my inbox waiting for me. Again, that sense of commitment and loyal following warms my Muse and my writer's heart and it truly makes it a joy to write. I try not to write for reviews, but for the artistry that writing can give, but I gotta admit, its so wonderful to have readers like you along for the ride, so thank you so much my friend, for all of your love. It means the world to me, and I hope you can grace Wildflower's sequel with the same support.

**KatlynIreneGlasse**: My spastic, sugar hyped, crazy reviewer, I LOVED seeing you in my inbox. The fact you took the time out of what sounded like a busy schedule to review when you had the chance, even if it was short, still means everything to me, and your reviews never failed to make me smile, so thank you my friend, thank you so much. I look forward to seeing your sugary hyped giddiness on Wildflower's sequel! =D

**hayleyjune13**: Another one of my most consistent reviewers; not always lengthy, but you always got your point across, and I cannot thank you enough for reading and reviewing as much as you did, it means the world to me, and it always will, and I hope I see you on the sequel!

**Sage/forfaithshelost459**: Though you rarely signed in, I came to look forward to all the words you had to say, and then towards the end when you offered to do fan art for me for this story…that just blew me clear out of the water and up to the stars. My work inspired more art? That is just incredibly mind boggling to me, and I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done in supporting this story (especially with more art!) Thank you so much my friend, if you ever need something from me, my door is always open =)

**sage62442**: Sharing a similar pen-name to the reviewer above, I will laugh and smile knowingly if you two are one in the same person, but I'm pretty sure you're not. At any rate, although your reviews were not as numerous or as long as some of the ones above, I believe you were the first to give me the idea of tweeting this story to Norman Reedus and anybody else involved with The Walking Dead. That idea had NEVER even entered my head before, and so, you deserve some serious recognition, because if anything ever comes of that action…well…it would have all been due to you and your suggestion. Seriously. I would have never even dreamed to send this to anybody related to the Walking Dead. It was all just for my own joy of creativity and hearing from readers. So thank you. Thank you so much. Even if nothing happens. Even if they spurn me for being an overly obsessed fan. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for planting the seeds to something potentially life-changing. You have my ever lasting thanks 3

There are SO MANY others that helped to give this story all of the reviews, follows, and favorites that I could spend all night writing tributes to them. EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who read my story EVEN IF YOU DID NOT REVIEW have all of my love. You made this story what it is. You guys really became my whole world since this story's been posted and now here we are at the end, and I am loathed, I am so terribly loathed, to let you go. I hope I can keep you all into the sequel when it arrives, because you as a group are some of the best followers anyone could ever ask for. I really just cannot thank all of you enough. You have been amazing and I dream of the day when we cross paths again. It was so worth replying to every single review, every single time, and to all of you who favorited and followed me and this story I have NEVER deleted those messages from my inbox, and I never will. Because even if you didn't review, it shows that you care, that my story meant something in some way, even if it was just entertainment and that to me is worth keeping. So thank you. Thank you all. You have been incredible, and now my friends, I bid you adieu.

_~Oh all the money that e'er I spent. I spent it in good company. And all the harm that e'er I've done, alas it was to none but me. And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I can't recall. So fill to me the parting glass, goodnight and joy be with you all. Oh all the comrades that e'er i've had are sorry for my going away. And all the sweethearts that e'er I've had, would wish me one more day to stay. But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not, I'll gently rise and I'll softly call, good night and joy be with you all. Good night and joy be with you all.~ _


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